Conscience
by Angel Ren
Summary: Alternate Reality: Laurent isn't dead. He stayed with Irina, and comes to visit. How will Bella, Edward, and the rest of the Cullens deal with the last remainder of James' coven? PostEclipse, PreWedding. Better summary inside.
1. Distraction

**Eclipse Spoilers!**

**Timeframe: **Post-Eclipse, Pre-Wedding

Ren's back! This is what happens when Ren dabbles with things she shouldn't mess with. We've already seen what damage she can do with the original Twilight storyline. Now she's messing with it. Probably a bad idea.

**A score of author's notes**: (please read them they're critical to comprehension!)

I present _Conscience_, a multi-part serious alternate-universe piece. **AU**: Take one part of _Twilight_, twist it around, and see what happens.

**What happens** in _Twilight_: Laurent gets eaten for lunch by a pack of wolves. Yummy

**What if **(my version): Laurent didn't ever leave the Denali coven and was never munched on by wolfies? What if he were still alive as Eclipse wrapped up with Bella the soon-to-be Mrs. Edward Cullen? What if Tanya decided she wanted to meet said soon-to-be Mrs. Edward Cullen and planned a trip to forks and Irina and Laurent decided to tag along? And that is the premise for my jumping-off point.

**Why: **Because I loved Laurent and don't think he's all that much of a bad guy.

Part one will make more sense in the flow of the story when I post more, I _promise._ Please don't read through it thinking 'I don't get it.' If it doesn't make sense by the end of this part, it will definitely be cleared up by part 2. Promise!

And I'm not sure how this will turn out, messing with AU's and all. Reviews make me happy! . (And they let me know what you do and don't like so I know how to be better.)

Okay, okay, c'mon Ren, on with the stupid story! Here goes:

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_Conscience_, Part 1: Distraction

There it was again. That irritating little beep. I rolled over and popped the snooze button on my alarm once. I didn't want to get up yet. It wasn't time. It was a Saturday. Surely a few more minutes wouldn't hurt… I felt the blackness of sleep start to possess me again as I slipped back into slumber.

Then there was another noise. A slightly more irritating one. It wasn't an alarm this time… it was a... a knock. Knock, knock, knock. Figment of my imagination. I was sure Charlie had gone fishing today, so it was just me at the house.

I closed my eyes again, trying to block out the annoying knocking. It stopped, and I smiled to myself before I drifted back off to sleep.

Without warning, I felt a pair of cold hands touching my cheeks. Edward. Edward was here, as usual. I could always count on him to show up as soon as Charlie had left. Maybe waking up wouldn't be so bad since Edward was here now. I slowly opened my eyes to look up at my one and only…

"Ed-mett!" I choked the last syllable out and bolted upright. It wasn't Edward's cold hands on my face, it was _Emmett's_! He just stared at me for a moment before bursting out in laughter. I just glared, feeling a blush rise in my cheeks. "Holy crow, Emmett, you scared me! I was expecting Edward!"

"You mean Edmett?" He was barely able to talk between laughs. I just glared at him.

"What are you doing here, Emmett?" There had to be a reason. There just had to be. And why wasn't my Edward here? I glanced around to see if Edward were hiding in a corner restraining his laughter. He wasn't. Not that I could see. There was something going on. Something unusual. And Emmett was too busy laughing at me to tell me. Jerk.

"We're going to a carnival!" I just stared at him. He looked sincere enough. Why was I so skeptic?

"Where's the punch line?" Emmett just stared at me before looking worried.

"No punch line, Bella. I'm going to take you to the carnival. I'm even borrowing the Volvo since I know the Jeep kind of intimidates you. There's one in Port Angeles right now. You will go with me, won't you?" I just stared at him, struck. I was having a difficult time comprehending what he was saying.

"A… carnival? Where's Edward? Does he know about this?"

"Of course he does. He's not coming; he suggested I take you and I thought it was a good idea. Please, Bella?" Strange… why would Edward ask Emmett to take me somewhere…? Did he really think Emmett and I needed bonding time? It seemed plausible, but something still wasn't sitting right with me.

"Sure… Emmett….I'll go," I answered slowly, thinking it over. It might be fun, anyway. Emmett would be fun, at least. His eyes lit up when I agreed, and I hoped I wouldn't regret my decision. Emmett's eyes then fell over me, still in my bed.

"You might want to put on some clothes. I'll go wait in the car." With a wink, Emmett had disappeared from my room.

I processed what had just transpired. I was going to a carnival with Emmett. A carnival. It just smelled like disaster. I scrounged up a decent pair of jeans and a light, fitted top. Brushing through my hair and pulling on my sneakers, I grabbed my purse out of the closet and stuffed my wallet inside before bounding down the stairs. Peeking outside, sure enough, Emmett was lounging in the Volvo's driver's seat.

I stepped out onto the patio and closed the door behind me before walking to the Volvo and climbing into the passenger side, as I had so many times before. It was strange to see big, burly Emmett in the driver's seat where my lithe vampire sweetheart usually perched.

The drive was, as predicted, not at all slow. Just on the outskirts of Port Angeles, several huge tents were set up. Some rides were spinning around in what appeared to be chaotic circles. How could people enjoy being flung around like that? Just watching them made me a little nauseous. Various brightly-colored booths lined the outskirts. Vendors peddled their wares and booth owners tried to solicit people into playing a rigged game. I frowned. Was this going to be fun? I wasn't sure.

I climbed out of the car slowly. Emmett grabbed my wrist and started loping casually towards the entrance. I stumbled awkwardly behind him, trying to keep up. He purchased both our entrance tickets and some extra ones for the rides.

We continued to walk on in, passing by the vendors selling various glow in the dark toys. Emmett paused at one and handed some cash to the vendor for some stupid item. I couldn't see what it was, his back was to me. Without warning, he wheeled around to face me, baring his teeth.

It actually wasn't the stupid plastic vampire fangs that sent me sprawling on my butt, it was the fact he moved so fast and growled at the same time that made me lose my balance. Either way, he was quite proud of himself.

He popped the teeth out of his mouth and put them in his pocket, then offered his hand to help me up.

"They glow in the dark, too, you know," he added conspiringly as I put myself in a vertical position. I chose to ignore him as I dusted off my jeans.

Chuckling, he continued to wander among the booths as I stayed at his side.

Without warning, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me away from my bear-like brother-figure. Emmett had turned instinctively, but calmed quickly.

"Hey little girl… wanna shoot a gun?" Slowly, dread filled, I turned to look at the man holding my arm. He was only slightly taller than me, had about forty years on my age, and looked like he had been a virgin all his life. He was gesturing to his shooting game.

I just shook my head. I don't think Edward would have approved of me shooting something that could just as easily take my life. Emmett looked amused.

"I'll do it. How much for one round?" The man slowly let go of my arm and turned to look at Emmett.

"One round? You'll want more than that… the target moves… there's no way you can get it with one… I'll give you a discount if you buy ten."

"I just want one." Emmett was surprisingly firm.

"One dollar," the man sighed as Emmett put the bill on the table. He handed over the gun. The target was tiny. Ridiculously tiny, and it moved around. The game was clearly rigged. I wasn't sure even _with_ vampire skills he could hit it. I frowned. He seemed so confident, like it was so easy, as if-

_Bam._

The target fell neatly to the ground, a hole in the dead center. The man just stared at his target, and then Emmett. He was at first confused, but then slowly became enraged.

"You cheated! How did you do that?!"

"I want my prize."

"Cheater! I won't have someone swindling me out of money!"

"I want my prize, _now._" Emmett placed the gun back onto the counter top calmly, looking at the angry man.

"I can't believe you-"

"_Now._" Emmett had reached out and grabbed the man by the collar, then smiled cheerfully. The man seemed to understand. I could only stare stupidly as the scene unfolded in front of me. I'd only seen Emmett so angry once before… …when we ran from James. He was angry then. Even when Victoria's newborns came, he was cheerful about that. Emmett had a decidedly terrifying side.

"O-of course. What would you like?"

"That one," Emmett said as he pointed to something with his other hand. Mutedly, I slowly turned my head to look, but was too late to see what he was pointing at. Emmett released his collar and the older man staggered back, gasping for breath. He glared, and then went to retrieve the prize without another word.

My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets when he set the biggest teddy bear in the world on the counter. Emmett picked it up, back to his cheerful self, and then handed it to me. I stared.

"Here, Bella. I won it for you!" I blinked.

"….For me?"

"Yeah." Numbly, I reached out and took the teddy bear that was the size of my torso. I could barely wrap my arms around it. Emmett beamed proudly. I'd never really had a stuffed animal before.

"Edward told me you'd never had a teddy bear before," he spoke as he led me away from the booth. I tried to peer around the bear at him, and succeeded after a moment. "And I thought every kid needs a teddy bear. So… it's for you." He smiled shyly. "Maybe… it can kind of remind you of me sometimes… it's kind of like me in a way. Don't you think?"

I felt my heart swell with an emotion I was unused to. I looked away before the emotional overload led to tears in my eyes. Smiling weakly, I looked back to Emmett.

"Thank you," I whispered, unable to make my voice do any better. Suddenly, the giant grizzly bear in my arms was suddenly worth so much more to me now. I pressed my face into it briefly, and then grinned at Emmett. He seemed to like that and smiled back.

The rest of the day progressed smoothly, Emmett hustling his way into winning various other prizes from toy tops to glow sticks to plastic handcuffs. The only incident was when I had been sitting down and stood up suddenly and my vision blacked out. Emmett caught me before I fell, and had set me back onto the bench. I hadn't had a clue what was wrong. It wasn't until Emmett leaned in and as inconspicuously as possible sniffed my neck did we discover the problem.

"You're hungry," he had said. "Your blood sugar is ridiculously low. I forgot to feed you! Edward's gonna lop off my cupcakes!"

"Don't worry about it Emmett," I had said. Poor Emmett had started panicking. He had frowned at me worriedly.

"What do you like to eat?"

"Anything." He looked around feverishly before getting up and running off some place. He returned holding a boat of French fries.

"Are these any good?"

"Those will do."

I had snarfed the fries relatively quickly. I guess I had forgotten breakfast in all the excitement.

"My poor cupcakes," he moaned softly. I just rolled my eyes and kept eating.

The sun was starting to set, and I was growing worried that Charlie would wonder where I was. Emmett assured me that Charlie knew I was out and it was okay to stay out late. That left us wandering around again.

"Want to go on a ride then?" I felt the blood run from my face, the smile slipping from its place. He started chuckling at my expression and started towing me towards one of the wonky roller coasters.

Oh no. Absolutely not. I was NOT going on that _thing._ I dug my heels into the ground as Emmett dragged me towards it. It's not like I could stop a vampire from forcing me, but I thought I'd try.

"No, Emmett, please no. I'll… I'll drop the bear!"

"I'll catch it, don't worry." He wasn't going to stop. Please no.

"Emmett! I really can't! I'll get sick!"

"That will be fun to watch." This wasn't going well.

"Emmett, please, please, don't make me go on that. Please!" Finally, he stopped and turned to study my traumatized expression closely.

"You really don't want to go, do you?" I shook my head. He nodded thoughtfully. "I really want to go on at least one ride though." I nibbled my bottom lip nervously. He looked around the park, then back to me. "Not even the Ferris Wheel?"

"I… think I can handle that. You have to _swear_ not to rock it though, okay? Promise?"

"Promise." Emmett was grinning as he led the way to the relatively short line to the Ferris Wheel. I noticed some people were giving me strange looks; I suppose I _was_ clutching a giant stuffed bear to my chest.

When it was our turn, Emmett helped me inside like a perfect gentleman before settling himself across from me. We waited quietly as the rest of the seats loaded up. I wondered if getting in the Ferris Wheel had been a bad idea. Rides always made me nervous.

It wasn't until we hit the top that I realized it wasn't a mistake. Emmett was grinning like a banshee, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. It. Was. Breathtaking. The carnival fanned out around us, people as tiny as dots. The lights were gorgeous, glittering out in strange patterns. The sunset was phenomenal. The sun itself couldn't be seen behind the clouds, but it cast a lovely silhouette against the clouds, throwing up reds and oranges against the violets and blues. The lights of Port Angeles glittered in the distance as the city came to life. I smiled at Emmett and hugged my new teddy bear again. He looked pleased. Very pleased.

When the ride was over, he helped me out again and led me towards the car. I guess he noticed I was getting sleepy again. Had I been even more tired, I would've mistaken him for Edward when he opened my car door for me before letting himself into the driver's side.

The drive home was quiet and I swear it lasted half as long as the drive there. Maybe it was because I nodded off halfway through. I woke up when the car slowed down considerably, almost stopping. But we weren't home. We were still in the Cullens' driveway, some distance from the house.

"Are you not taking me home?" Emmett just looked at me confused for a moment.

"No… Carlisle called while you were sleeping and told me to bring you here. I don't know if that's a good idea." I felt my heart stutter.

"Why not?"

"I don't know… I don't recognize it."

"Recognize… _what_?"

"_That._" Emmett flipped on his overhead lights in response, lighting up the Cullen's entire front yard. There, nestled in the front lawn was a vehicle I had never seen before. Someone had a very flashy sports car. I couldn't name what it was. I was sure Rosalie probably knew. "Someone else is here. One of _us._"

Emmett was playful most of the time, but he had a startlingly serious, protective side whenever I was in potential danger. He inched the Volvo closer before killing the lights and engine. He opened his car door slowly and I followed suite.

"So… what should we do," I was whispering, my voice cracking. It was supposed to be over, right? No more Victoria, no more James. Who was here? Were they after _me?_ Would Carlisle really want me to come if there were any chance of danger?

"We go inside, but you follow behind me." Emmett inched up to the front door, positioning himself in front of me like a giant shield. I willingly obliged. I didn't really want to throw open the front door and get mauled by a thirsty vampire. Emmett took a deep breath and muttered, "I _really_ wish I had Edward's talent right about now… I'd know who was in there and what they wanted." I could only nod mutely. My heart was racing again. I couldn't believe this. This wasn't happening again. It would be alright. It _had_ to be. I fingered the ring on my third finger affectionately. Perhaps neurotically would be a better word.

Slowly, he nudged open the door and peered inside. All I could do was stand behind him, seeing nothing but his broad back, hearing absolutely nothing and holding my breath.


	2. Deception

Lookie, lookie! I have part 2! What's cool is I have this set of about 10 sheets of paper filled with notes for things to happen, and still more floating around in my head. Part 2 will tie in Part 1 to the general story line. I figured that anyone who read part one is scratching his or her head thinking '…what does a carnival have to do with Laurent?!' Well, here's the missing piece! Yay! I posted this as soon as I finished so that part 1 would make more sense.

Oh, and _Conscience_ is a working title. Do you know how difficult it is to name something based on one chapter? I don't really like the title, which means it's probably going to change when I find something I love. That's how I name my pieces. I was finishing Butterfly Kisses and thought "Oh my God! Butterfly Kisses! Perfect!" and it was named. I don't like this title, but I don't have one I do like, so it will do for now. And without further rambling:

_Conscience_, Part 2: Deception

Emmett let out his breath quickly.

"Esme. You scared me. Who's-" I peeked around Emmett in time to see Esme cut him off gently.

"Come into the sitting room. Both of you. There's someone I think you should see. You'll never guess who dropped by." Emmett and I could only exchange looks before we followed, Emmett still in front of me protectively. Again, I found myself holding my breath as we walked around the corner.

Everyone was situated in the sitting room, all quiet and contemplative. But it wasn't Edward's pensive face or Carlisle's warm smile I saw. My eyes focused only on one person in the room. Emmett tensed in front of me into a low crouch, a growl rumbling from his throat and my heart stuttered to a stop.

It was Laurent.

I could only think his name over and over again. I couldn't think anything else. I didn't even realize Edward had risen from the sofa and walked over to where I was, concerned. Only when his cold hands took my face and turned my head to face him did I realize his beautiful face was near mine.

"Bella. Breathe. Please. It's so unhealthy for you to stop breathing like that."

I breathed. Deeply. Forgetting where I was or what was going on; I threw my arms around his neck.

"I missed you today…" He chuckled softly and pulled me close, planting a kiss on my forehead.

"I missed you too. Every moment." I smiled as he petted my hair softly. He bent down and pressed his lips against mine ever so softly. I stayed good, relatively unmoving for him. He smiled at my effort; I could feel the corners of his lips turn up against mine. Without warning, his arms snuggled me closer, and my cheeks burst into flames.

"Incredible," a voice from the living room murmured. Oh. Right. People. Not just people. Specific people. I pulled away from Edward unwillingly and turned to look at the Cullens' company from the safety of Edward's arms. Laurent of all people was sitting in the living room, watching with wide, disbelieving eyes. But something was different. Something was-

"Oh! Laurent's a vegetarian now, too!" His eyes were the same goldish color of the Cullens. Edward chuckled at my side as he kissed my ear softly.

"Something like that," he murmured. Feeling a little better, I looked around the room at everyone else. Rosalie was looking away from Edward's butterfly kisses on my neck, Esme looked like she was going to explode with glee with what he was doing and Carlisle was professionally aloof. Emmett, though, was still standing, glaring at Laurent. Jasper was folded elegantly into a chair, and he looked like he was really concentrating. There was probably a cacophony of emotions on him. Poor Jasper. Alice looked happy. She sat on the arm rest of Jasper's chair, looking totally at ease. I took that to mean that nothing bad was going to happen. Yet.

Then there was Laurent. He still looked the same as the day in the clearing, except his eyes were almost done transitioning from crimson to ocher. I noticed two women, one on either side of him. A petite girl was perched practically in his lap, both her hands holding one of his. She appeared relatively bored with everything in the room except Laurent. Weird. The other woman was gorgeous. She was tall, slightly built, and blonde.

I realized Rosalie wasn't averting her eyes from Edward trying to snog my neck, but from the two women. Esme, too, seemed to pretend they weren't there. The blond one was watching Edward intently. On occasion, she would glance to me, but then back to Edward. Who were these strange golden-eyed vampires?

"Carlisle? I think you should introduce Bella to everyone here. She doesn't know everyone, she she's radiating confusion. You might want to sit her down before she falls over," Jasper spoke calmly, quietly, but everyone heard him. Wordlessly, Edward tugged me to the sofa and I folded into it beside him, resting against his side. Carlisle sat up from where Esme was sitting tightly pressed against his side. She seemed reluctant to let go of him. I watched as he walked to the center of the room.

"Bella, you ah, already know Laurent, but yes, he has decided to adopt our style of life," Carlisle was saying, I heard Edward rumble a growl in the back of his throat. Apparently Edward didn't think Laurent could be trusted. "And this," he gestured to the perfectly vertical, slender, blond woman. Her hair had a touch of red to it, almost strawberry blonde, that I hadn't noticed before. "Is Tanya."

I choked. I felt Edward rub my arm comfortingly, but he, too, was tense. This wasn't _the_ same Tanya that had… my Edward… my God. Was it? I felt nauseated.

"Tanya, this is Bella. Bella, this is Irina," Carlisle was gesturing to the woman plastered to Laurent's side. "Irina, Bella." Carlisle finished up with the introductions and walked over to where I was sitting on the sofa. He knelt down on the ground so his face was eye level with mine. "Bella? Are you alright?" I had a hard time comprehending him.

"Is that… Tanya from Alaska? Where Edward went… when…" Carlisle and Edward exchanged looks; and information. Stupid mind reader. Edward gave me a little squeeze, rubbing my upper arm some more.

"Yes, Bella, the same." My heart stuttered. Edward had mentioned her in passing, but had refused to elaborate on it. Was there some dark, dark secret between the two of them that I was never to know about? Was that even fair? Why was Tanya here now? To take Edward way? The thought nearly sent me into spasms so I had to control myself. As politely as possible, I nodded to the two women.

"Very nice to meet you," I whispered. I wished it had sounded more sincere. The blonde one – Tanya – smiled at me. I turned back to Edward. "Why are they here? When did they get here?"

"We heard there was going to be a wedding!" I hadn't heard her speak. Her voice was cheerful and optimistic as Tanya uncurled from her seated position and sprang into the air. Within three steps she was in front of Edward and me, staring down at me with some emotion I couldn't comprehend.

"Actually, Tanya wanted to see the woman that bested her. A human, nonetheless," a slow, quiet voice spoke from the other side of the room. I peered around Tanya to regard Irina. She was watching the scene quietly, seemingly unaffected by anything. She appeared to be the calmest person in the room, content only to sit next to Laurent. Tanya looked once over her shoulder at Irina, then back to me.

"Something like that, yes. It's so… fascinating, really. I mean, here Edward never gave in… the one man we couldn't have, and he chose _you._" I blinked. How was I supposed to take that? Emmett seemed to be through with being quiet.

"And what's that supposed to mean? Bella's perfect for Edward, and I'll be damned if you think you're better. You obviously aren't, he didn't want you then and he certainly won't take you now. I'd much rather have Bella for a sister than you, anyway." Emmett just glared at Tanya, and she stared at him struck. Realization dawned on her.

"Oh no, no, that's not what I meant, I just meant it was interesting that it's _you._" I wished she would stop emphasizing that pronoun so much. "I mean, he nearly killed you the first day he met you, he ran all the way to us and complained about how strong your scent was to him. After a week, he decided he imagined it, turned around and drove back to Forks and ended up falling for you." I guess when she put it that was it _was_ sort of interesting. Sort of. But Edward nearly eating me for lunch that first day in Biology wasn't exactly something that made me nervous. Tanya continued, smiling. "And of course, we all dreamed about what you were like, and naturally, you're nothing like we imagined. So you're interesting, Bella. I wanted to meet you." She smiled again and popped upright, gliding with unreal grace back to her chair where she settled into it. "And when I mentioned the Cullens were having another wedding, we thought it would be the perfect time to drop in. Laurent has been staying with us for quite some time, and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets when I said I was planning to go see the Cullens. He wanted to come, too, and Irina hasn't left his side. So here we are." Again, that goddess-like smile. She leaned forward on her chair conspiringly. "So, who's getting married this time? Rosalie and Emmett again? Or another Alice and Jasper? Or, will the good doctor wed his wife again?"

Carlisle cleared his throat, clearly a little surprised at how much was thrown out in the last minute. He had risen from his place on the floor and returned back to Esme's side.

"Actually, Edward's having his first wedding," Alice said slowly, watching for their reactions. Irina sat upright for the first time, suddenly listening. Laurent's eyes widened and Tanya's eyes flashed to mine. The room was quiet for a moment and I felt Edward squeeze my hand before whispering in my ear.

"Breathe, Bella." I breathed.

"To the _human_?" Irina's voice was lower than Tanya's, it had a sultry tone to it and was laced with incredibility. I flinched. Edward just stared at her coldly.

"Yes, I'm getting married to the human. Jealous?" Irina just turned her head away and settled back into the chair with Laurent who still hadn't untensed yet. Tanya seemed pleased, however.

"Splendid, splendid," she said.

"Bella?" I turned to look at Edward. "I called Charlie. Actually, _Alice_ called Charlie. If I did, I would've gotten the complete opposite answer." Here, Alice smiled cheerfully from across the room. "He said it was okay for you to stay here for a while."

"Stay here?" Not that I minded. Being around Edward twenty-four-seven?

"Yeah. Just because there's an excessive amount of vampires in Forks, I thought it would be best if you stayed nearby." That was so like Edward. Pulling strings to get me safe and getting other people to agree to it. ….Like Emmett.

"You! You had Emmett take me to the carnival so I wouldn't be in town when they got here!" Edward leaned back, startled by my outburst. I felt anger swell in my chest and I hopped off the sofa and onto my feet, glaring. Emmett, too, stood up and walked over. "Just like when you flew me to see Renee when Victoria came through. How many times are you going to send me off without telling me what for?"

"Bella, it was for your own safety. Besides, you had a nice time with Emmett anyway, right?"

"That's not the point!" He didn't understand. I sighed and calmed down; yelling wouldn't help. "I don't mind you sending me off to try and protect me Edward, but I do mind you not being completely honest with me. Why wouldn't you just tell me?"

"To be honest, I didn't tell Emmett either. Emmett would've wanted to stay here in case a fight broke out. We didn't want that kind of tension. So we sent him away, too." Emmett was just glaring at Edward, and wordlessly returned to his chair and sat down, pouting like a child.

"Why would a fight break out…?" Tanya's head tilted to the side as she studied our stance with too much interest.

"Edward and Laurent… go back a ways," Carlisle explained tactfully. "But it would seem that it is all in the past, and it should stay there." Edward was glaring at Carlisle. I realized he still didn't trust Laurent. Laurent was wise to remain quiet throughout the whole outburst.

"So I'm a hostage here again?" I tried to glare at Edward, but it failed miserably. Especially when he moved to right in front of me, his golden eyes scorching into my own, melting my insides.

"You can sleep in my bed," he purred, a deep, rumbling sound coming from his chest. All thoughts of being angry flew out the window.

"O-okay," was all the breathy answer I could muster beneath his gaze, a flush flooding my cheeks. Emmett chuckled.

"Tanya, you look green," Emmett said. Slowly, Edward moved his gaze from mine to regard everyone else in the room. Then he glanced down to assess me.

"Bed time for the human. You're asleep on your feet." I rolled my eyes.

"Edward I-"

"Bella. Bed. Charlie will have my head if I don't take care of you. If you go back to him looking remotely like a zombie, I'm a dead man walking. And not like I am now." I sighed and nodded. He was right. I scooped up the giant teddy bear from the carnival and started wandering towards Edward's room. I heard Edward in the living room.

"Alice, will you run and get some of Bella's things from Charlie's?" I heard the front door close; I guess that was a yes. I stumbled into Edward's bedroom and crawled onto his bed.

"Alice will be back with your things shortly. You can change then before you sleep." He smiled softy and brushed my hair out of my face, lying next to me on the bed. "Don't worry, it will be alright. Alice saw them coming, she saw nothing bad happening. Unfortunately I didn't tell anyone else, so they took Esme and Carlisle by surprise. Esme isn't too happy to see Tanya, you see." I nodded faintly.

A soft knock sounded on the door. I sat upright and saw Alice standing in the doorway, holding a duffle. I slid off the bed and walked over to take it from her and fished my pajamas out of the bag. Edward walked over to me and kissed my forehead.

"I'll be back later, there's still much we need to talk about downstairs. You are safe, Bella, I swear it." I nodded as he glided out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

After changing into the Victoria's Secret articles, I turned off the light and crawled into the big bed. I had forgotten how comfortable his bed was. I could get used to this as his wife. Not that I would be sleeping in it too terribly long after we were married. The thought that had once made me nauseous now gave me butterflies. Nervous, yes. But not sick with worry. I trusted them, I trusted everyone.

Just as I was beginning to fall asleep, I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Nuh?" I think I made a funny noise of admission; I was too tired to be coherent. Was it Rosalie? She seemed to like waking me up as I was falling asleep. I sat upright and blinked sleepily at the door. I would give her a piece of my mind. As nice as it was to get the inside look on Rosalie, or anyone else, I really wanted to sleep. I glared at the door. I was going to chew them out for waking me up.

"What do you wan-Oh!"

My heart stopped.

It wasn't Rosalie.

It was Laurent.


	3. Les Avues

Part Three! So I get to flush out Laurent's character here. I'd really, **really** like to know what everyone thinks of it. We didn't really see very much of him in Twilight, and only a tiny bit in New Moon before he became puppychow, so this was difficult to work with. Nonetheless, I'm curious if anyone else viewed him the same way I did. Bear in mind, however, that this is only what he presents to our lovely-scented narrator. It may not be all. Anyway, thanks for reading! ('Les Avues' means Confessions for the less French-savvy of you.) Yay. (Don't get used to these frequent updates. Heh.)

_Conscience_, Part Three: _Les __Avues_

He just stood there in the doorway, watching me carefully. I glanced around the room. I wondered if Edward knew about this. He would soon; how could he not? I swallowed.

As the silence dragged on, my heart was slowly accelerating. Finally, Laurent moved. He closed the door behind him, plunging the room into darkness once more. I couldn't see him now, and my heart felt like it would break in my chest.

"Please, Bella, try and relax. I'm not coming any closer…" I heard his soft, slightly French-accented voice, but couldn't see him. A second later, a dim light flipped on and I could see. Laurent had eased himself into the sofa and turned on the table lamp on the table next to time. "Sorry. I forgot you couldn't see." His hands were folded in his lap and he just watched me wrapped up in the fluffy comforter, the stuffed bear clutched to my chest.

"Did you… need something," I asked, barely above a whisper. Laurent shifted slightly, and glanced to the door.

"I wanted to know why," he spoke slowly looking back to me. I frowned.

"Why what?"

"Why you do it. You could have so much. It's so… dangerous for you to constantly be around vampires, and yet you're going to marry one. Why? Aren't you afraid?" I glanced down to the glittering oval stone on my skin, moving my finger slightly in the dim light. Why was I doing this? How could I answer it?

"Well… it was never a choice for me…" That was true. I couldn't live without Edward.

"He's forcing you?" Laurent's voice was incredulous and I raised my eyes quickly to his, realizing his misunderstanding.

"Oh, no, no. Of course not. If Edward had his way… no, I think it's working out right for both of us." I smiled softly, trailing off. Edward will get his wedding, and I'll get my last human ties, and then we'd be together forever. Literally. "I meant that… that I never had a choice. I fell in love with him before I knew what he was, precisely. I mean, I knew he wasn't… like me. He was too… …like from another world. Like an angel. Beautiful, the way he walked, spoke." I blushed brightly. "And then I, well. He… there's just no other way. I can't live without him. I already tried once."

"You tried? You left him?"

"He left me." I winced, this wasn't something I wanted to talk about. "To protect me. It was a bad idea. I ended up meeting the Volturi and-" here, Laurent interrupted me.

"You met the _Volturi_? And… you're still… human!" I nodded grimly.

"Unfortunately."

"You don't want to be?" His questions were so difficult, and I couldn't explain why I was trying to justify them to him. Why did it matter? It wasn't his business.

"It's not so much that. It's more like… I want to stand by Edward and be proud to be there. Be his equal, rather than a little something delicate he's always trying to protect from other vampires and her own clumsiness. Something equally beautiful, powerful and strong. And I can't stand the thought of getting older while he stays young." I smiled again. It was surprisingly comfortable talking to him so openly.

"And you're not afraid." It wasn't a question now. A statement. I glanced up to him and found he was watching me with open curiosity in his eyes.

"Only a little, right now. But your eyes make it a little easier. They're gold."

"Of me?" I nodded. "You shouldn't be. Even if I wanted to, it would be suicide to attempt it in this house, much less with Edward standing outside the door."  
"He's outside?" My heart skipped a beat in my chest and I glanced to the door instinctively. I heard Laurent chuckle softly.

"Yes. Listening to every word we say, hearing every thought we think…"

"Every thought _you_ think," I correct him automatically, feeling a corner of my lips tug up proudly.

"What do you mean? He can't….?" I finally looked away from the door to meet Laurent's perpetually bewildered gaze.

"No. He can't. We don't know why… I'm a freak, that's why. I mean most of my friends are vampires and werewolves. Of _course_ there's something wrong with my head," I laughed. I mean, really, my life was so messed up. My priorities were so scrambled; it only made sense that something with my mind was wrong.

"…Werewolves?" I stilled for a moment. Would it be so wrong to tell him about Jacob? I nibbled my bottom lip. Surely not. If they were going to stay, they would have to know about the treaty, right? Sure.

"Yeah… there's a pack of wolves down at La Push. The Cullens have a peace treaty with them. If you… if you stay here at all, you know you'll have to acknowledge that… I wonder if Carlisle should tell Sam… so Sam knows…" That would be bad if one of the wolves attacked Irina, Tanya or Laurent because they didn't recognize the scent. I made a mental note to ask Carlisle about it later. "But yes. My best friend is Jacob Black. …Was. The whole I'm-dating-a-vampire kind of… makes friendship hard. But I do my best." I couldn't help but laugh. "Actually, we were okay at the I'm-dating-a-vampire stage. Jacob understood. It was the… I-want-to-become-one that really put stress on it…" Poor Jake. I swore I would make him smile again. Swear it.

"….Wow. Isabella Swan, you are incredible."

"That's what Edward says." I wonder why that was. It's not like I was incredible. I was normal. Completely average at best. "So you've… converted? Vegetarian now?" Yes, let's talk about something other than me.

"It would seem so. It pleases Irina. That is enough for me." We stayed quiet for a moment, a comfortable silence falling on us. Despite the awkwardness of one of his coven-mates nearly killing me, I felt like Laurent was someone I could learn to trust. Or maybe that was his gift, taking trust. Like the way Jasper could calm me down. Perhaps I wasn't being wary enough. "You really are very special to him. I didn't understand… that day, in the clearing. The way he crouched over you. Forgive me, but at first I thought you were a post-game snack. I didn't understand why you were so special. But he was in _love_ with you. To me, that's so strange. I suppose it wouldn't be if I had adopted the Cullen lifestyle at that point… so strange… unnatural… and yet so pure between you… whatever happened to James? Was he…?" Laurent trailed off, his question all but implied. I nodded.

"I don't really remember, but I know he's dead. …So is Victoria, now," I added slowly, unsure how he would react to that.

"Victoria? She stayed around?" Again, I nodded.

"Victoria… was really attached to James. She was furious when Jasper and Emmett destroyed him. She wanted revenge." Laurent nodded sagely.

"So she wanted Edward dead then. That makes sense…"

"No. She wanted _me_ dead. A mate for a mate." Again, his eyes widened, but only slightly this time. Perhaps he was growing used to the unusual circumstances that seemed to permeate around me. It was ridiculous, really.

"You told me you had met the Volturi… what happened? Not every human meets the Volturi, and even fewer walk away alive. At least, with their hearts still beating." I took a deep breath, unsure if I would be able to explain the entire trauma that had happened when Edward left. I glanced to the door.

"Is he still outside?"

"Yes, why?" I nodded. He was there. Edward was still there. He would always be there.

"Because as long as he's nearby, I can do anything," I murmured softly. Laurent cocked his head, leaning forward on the sofa. I studied his expression intently, trying to decide if he really, honestly wanted to know. He seemed to. So I began.

"Edward loves me. He always has. He wanted to protect me, after the James incident, he thought that being around him put me in close proximity to too many vampires. Perhaps it does. It's something I – we, all the Cullens and I, accept now. So he left, hoping I would get over him and move on, find a normal human to love and live a normal, _safe_, human life. Only I never got over him…" I trailed off, thinking for a moment. "I… ended up in a really bad place. I wasn't living for myself anymore, only for the people who cared about me. Depressed, they called it. They tried twice to get me to see someone. Take medicine.

"I found that the only medicine that I wanted, that I craved, was adrenaline. If I could get close to death, a dangerous situation, I could hear Edward's voice in my mind, trying to protect me. So I did a lot of crazy stuff. I even jumped off a cliff, into the ocean.

"It wasn't bad, it was the most amazing sensation I had ever felt, freefalling like a rock. Unfortunately, Alice had a vision of what happened. She thought I was committing suicide. Edward found out… and he thought I was dead. So he went to the Volturi to ask them to kill him. Alice came here to verify if I really were dead, and I was not. So we flew around the world to Volterra to save the stubborn lout from himself. Enter Volturi. That's about the end of it. Oh, and Edward's promised never to leave me for my own safety again." The last line was said louder that necessary and directed toward the door.

"Why didn't the Volturi kill you, though," he asked.

"I'm not sure… I think it's because Aro and Jane couldn't touch me with their power. I think because… because they want to see what kind of vampire I'll become… I can't be sure though. I don't read minds like Edward."

"You're immune to Aro and Jane, too?" I nodded helplessly, shrugging.

"My mind is a freak of nature. What can I say?" I shrugged nonchalantly, and then glanced to him curiously. I think I had been good enough to answer all his questions. I deserved some answers of my own.

"So… why are you here?"

Laurent glanced to me curiously, and then shrugged faintly.

"Really, Tanya wanted to meet you. I'm not quite sure why; the reason for that originates since before I joined their coven. But I didn't know that. She just announced she was going to go visit Carlisle Cullen and asked if anyone wanted to join. Kate turned down the invitation. I asked if it would be alright if I came along – mostly I wanted the chance to apologize to Carlisle for all the trouble that James had caused. I certainly hadn't expected to arrive and smell your scent so strongly. You come here frequently, don't you?" I wagged my ringed, third finger in his direction in answer. He nodded in understanding. "Quite surprised… Would you mind too terribly if we stayed for the wedding? Carlisle said it was alright, but I thought it would be best to ask you." I just stared. He was asking my permission. I nodded. He smiled and stood up from the sofa. "Edward's pacing outside. He's stressing, and you need sleep. I never thought there was so much to learn from a human… thank you for your time. Sorry to keep you up. _Bonne __nuit__chérie_"

He walked to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway. Low words were exchanged, words too fast and too low for my ears to hear. Yet. Within a second Edward was in his room, crawling up onto the bed next to me. Before I could say anything, he pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head.

"I missed you Bella, every second you were away. I haven't seen much of you today, and it's been driving me mad." I had no qualms about snuggling closer into his chest, feeling exhausted with fatigue.

I peeked over at Edward as I felt him shift slightly. We lay back on the bed together, and he held up the giant teddy bear in one hand.

"Sort of looks like Emmett, don't you think," I teased. He chuckled and kissed my forehead. Then my temple… and then my cheek… and ear… and jaw… and neck… Mm.

"One thing worries me," his velvet smooth voice broke through the silence after a moment.

"What's that?" I was dozing off, hardly paying attention.

"Your heart stammered when he spoke his last sentence. Do you like French?" I cracked one eye in his direction, and then shrugged, closing it again.

"_Est-ce que c'est vrai?_" My heart thudded in my chest, and I knew he had won. So did he. He nuzzled his nose against my hair softly, pulling my body closer to his as he whispered in my ear. "It is true, then. At least it stammered more when I said it, rather than he. I thought I had competition for a moment." Competition. Right. I snorted, and then tried to murmur something in protest but it wasn't coherent. Even in English. I fell asleep at that point, and the last thing I remembered was Edward murmuring sweet French nothings into my ear. I had no idea what they meant, but they sounded beautiful with his velvet voice and seductive tone. I decided I could get used to French.


	4. Rendezvous

Yay! Part four! I am soooo excited! I have a beta now! Hooray! Thank you SO much BloodSuckingLeech for taking the time to look over my chapters and help me proof them. I love having a beta! You're amazing!

So without further ado, I present

_Conscience_, Part Four: Rendez-vous

Groggily I rolled over. Was it morning already? My internal clock was kicking me to get up, but the rest of my body really wanted to stay put. It was ridiculously comfortable. Like I was lying on Edward's bed.

I bolted upright, my eyes wide open. I _was _lying in Edward's bed. If the part about Edward whispering French into my ear last night wasn't part of some crazy dream, then everything before it was true, too. Laurent really _had_ come to visit, and he really had come into Edward's room. And for some inexplicable reason, I had explained _everything_ to him. That thought worried me.

Again I wondered if Laurent's skill was to coax people to trust him. He was a very trustable person. More so than a lot of humans I knew. And he was a vampire. _The only remaining member of a coven who tried to kill you,_ my mind thought. If statistics were good for anything at all… then it probably wasn't a good idea to spill my guts to the once red-eyed vampire. I wouldn't be so foolish in the future. So I hoped.

I tumbled off the bed, my bare feet hitting the furry gold rug on Edward's floor. Silent to my ears – though I knew any vampire in a mile-wide radius would know I was awake – I walked to where my small overnight bag was. Alice had been so kind as to grab some clean clothes for me to wear. Now, the question was: what did she pick out?

Warily, I opened the bag and withdrew… a pair of jeans and the sapphire blue sweater Edward fancied so much. Alice had been good. I smiled a bit and folded the clothes over my arm, picked up my bathroom bag up and trotted down the hallway.

It wasn't until I had stripped myself naked, started the hot water, jumped inside the shower and lathered my hair with shampoo that I wondered if I really would be left alone to shower. Surely, right? Sure Laurent had just barged into my room last night, but he, nor Tanya nor Irina would do so into the bathroom, would they? Edward would kill them if they did. I decided I didn't have anything to worry about; Edward would know if they even thought about doing anything like that. Having a mind-reading vampire boyfriend had its perks. Especially when he couldn't read _my_ mind.

The hot water felt incredible. I let it roll off my body and through my hair. Rinsing out the shampoo, I ran conditioner through it. With a little bit of effort, I managed to pile it on top of my head to keep it out of the stream of water so the conditioner could set in my hair. While waiting for the creamy stuff to "induce shine and volumize" my hair, I lathered up my soap and washed myself. It was like all the tension just washed away with the soap.

I shook my hair down and let the spray run through it again, taking with it all the conditioner. I ran my fingers through the locks to work out any extra conditioner before I wrung it out. Shutting off the shower, I crawled into my towel. I dried off my hair a bit before wiping down the rest of my body and changing into my clothes for the day. After adjusting the sweater so it hung right over my modest curves, I opened the door – and found Emmett standing on the other side.

"G'morning, Emmett," I said, a bit perplexed. Emmett looked unusually tired. Angry, maybe. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was standing off to the side of the bathroom door. He nodded his greeting. "Something wrong?"

"No. Just making sure you were left alone," he said. But something was wrong. I felt a great sense of gratitude for Emmett and it bothered me that something was bothering him.

"Thank you, Emmett. But really… what's wrong?" He finally fixed his gaze on me. After a few seconds of Emmett uncharacteristically debating whether or not to say something – Emmett _always_ said what was on his mind, he decided to answer.

"I'm just… I can't believe Edward didn't trust me enough not to jump on Laurent and rip him to shreds, you know? He sent me off to be with you like I was a little kid. Don't get me wrong, Bella, I loved spending the afternoon with you. I just wish it had been under different circumstances, and Edward hadn't had ulterior motives. I'm… sure I'm a little rough, hot headed, maybe. But if Carlisle or Edward or whatever, you know? I wouldn't have. It… uhg. And he's not the least bit sorry." I patted his arm. His turbulent speech, though the words themselves made little sense, the emotion was crystal-clear. Edward did that from time to time.

"Does he know that you're upset?" Emmett shrugged.

"I've made no point not to think about it, so I'd assume so. But he hasn't said anything." I nodded again, and then gave him a playful punch in the shoulder.

"Cheer up, Emmett. I don't like seeing you this way. It's not you." He just stared at me for a moment, and then a grin slowly spread across his face. "What is it," I asked suspiciously.He peered around me and looked back inside Edward's room.

"You sleep with the bear?" I blushed and nodded slightly. Emmett grinned even more and turned away quickly.

"Oh, you should get dressed and look presentable. We're having a meeting a little later today. I think Edward and Carlisle want you there." A meeting? What kind of meeting?

"Emmett? What's going on?"

"You'll see," he said mysteriously before vanishing down the stairs. Confused, I walked back into Edward's room and ran a brush through my hair and checked to make sure I was presentable.

Bounding down the stairs, I headed for the foyer, but was distracted by the smell of pancakes from the kitchen. Pancakes? My stomach couldn't resist. I headed toward the kitchen and rounded the corner to see Esme setting a plate of pancakes, glass of milk, fork and knife, napkin and a bottle of syrup on the table. I just stared and with a beautiful smile she looked up at me.

"I made you breakfast, Bella. Jasper and Edward went out hunting with Tanya, Laurent and Irina to make sure there were no… accidents. It seemed silly they would all have breakfast and not you when you're the one who needs it the most." I felt my heart thud in my chest. They really _were_ like my family. Esme was taking care of me as if I were her daughter. Emmett had waited outside the bathroom like a protective big brother. I swallowed heavily to keep tears of affection from welling in my eyes. Smiling gratefully back, I walked over and sat down. I took a chance on my voice and spoke, and sure enough it cracked ever so slightly.

"Esme, you- you really don't need to do this for me. This must've been an awful lot of trouble." That didn't mean I wasn't going to eat it. I was starving and my stomach rumbled in assent. Esme chuckled as I blushed brightly.

"Silly Bella, it was no trouble at all. Really." Right. Because a house full of vampires just happened to have a box of Bisquick laying around in case a human happened to drop by for breakfast. I smiled gratefully but I could tell by the look on her face that she knew I didn't believe her. For never having the opportunity to raise her own child, Esme was a _very_ good mother. Sheepishly I turned back to my pancakes and dug into them.

I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe expecting something to taste funny? I didn't think they would be _bad_, but maybe they would have a little something not-quite-right. They were the most delicious pancakes I had ever had. Esme smiled gleefully when she realized how much I enjoyed them. As she retired from the room, I sat there at the table eating the pancakes, drinking the milk, and reflecting.

Emmett had said something about a meeting. What kind of meeting? Even after I finished all the pancakes, I sat there quietly, letting time slip by me. I spun the empty glass absentmindedly in my hands. It wasn't until I felt a pair of hands on my waist and a set of cold lips at my neck that I startled from my thoughts.

Canting my head, I found Edward nuzzling me, his arms wrapping around my waist.

"I missed you," he murmured into my neck before raising his bronze head to look at me with his ridiculously scorching gold eyes. I gasped softly, frozen by his trance. Without warning, he swooped down, catching my lips with his own.

It still defied logic. Someone so cold was so capable of igniting a hot fire within me. My body gave a soft shudder, flames ripping through my insides from my lips to the tips of my toes. Without checking myself, without thinking, I turned to face him more fully. I thrust my arms around him, my fingers knotting in his hair, pulling him closer. He made a soft noise of warning. My mind registered it, but my body was too consumed with passion to pay attention. He didn't pull away or stiffen as I pulled him closer, but I felt him grow more cautious.

My lips then parted over his as my body tried to tempt him into deepening it. I knew it was only a matter of time. His lips stayed together before pressing together tightly. His body went taut and gently, his hands came up to catch my face. Even then, I was aware, but my body still wanted more. Stupid human reactions. Gently, he pushed me away, and then held me there, our lips only a few inches apart. I smiled meekly.

"Oops."

Edward just sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Bella, you can't-" I cut him off.

"Look, I understand the dynamics of not French-kissing my boyfriend because he has razors for teeth. I understand. I really do. But! You can't come in here after depriving me of you for a day or so and kiss me like the end of the world's coming and expect me _not_ to react like any sane, hot-blooded human would and maul you. Especially when you do that stupid, unfair smoldering thing with your eyes. Just like that!" I gestured to the way he stared me down. All the fire in the world couldn't rival the intense passion burning behind his ocher eyes. The way his lips cocked into a half-grin only sent my heart hammering. It sounded like a bird's wings trying to fly out of a cage. The intensity of it only made him grin more. He leaned in closer so his lips were by my ear, my chin over his shoulder.

"Do I make your blood boil?" His whisper sent shivers down my spine. Barely able to talk, I whispered back into his ear breathlessly.

"Yes," I admitted. He chuckled in my ear.

"Don't move," he breathed against my ear, my heart fluttering frantically in my chest. I tried to stay perfectly still. As his cold lips brushed over my neck and his hands grasped my legs above my knees, I squirmed.

"You're mean," I whined.

"Why's that," he murmured.

"I want to kiss you."

"Ah, but you're dangerous…" he was clearly enjoying himself. I tried to be angry, but it was ridiculously impossible the way he fondled my neck with his lips.

Then I had a thought. Perhaps… it wasn't just me. If Edward had blood, could I make his blood boil? Time to find out.

My hands slid up his chest slowly and I turned my head slightly so my lips brushed his cold neck and ear. I felt his hands tighten slightly on my legs, his entire body stiffen. Perhaps I could. I'd get him back. My trembling hands slipped underneath his shirt, my fingertips skirting lightly over his bare marble chest.

Like lightning, he was against the far wall, staring at me with a feral hunger in his eyes. A hunger, not for blood, but for flesh. I felt my cheeks color and my body respond to the look. My stupid, senseless body wanted him to carry out the threat in his eyes. My lips curled into a smirk as I caught my breath. Edward's eyes narrowed.

"You did that on purpose." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.

"You were cheating, vampire," I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to force my heart to slow down. His eyes narrowed.

"And you didn't cheat?"

"If you don't play fair, I don't have too, either," I laughed softly, my blush fading. Without warning, Edward bowed his head and then raised it again.

"Then you truly are a terrifying monster. I'll concede this round, but I _will_ win next time." The implications in his voice and his eyes made my heart stutter to a stop. Half of me wanted him to. The other half was terrified of what would happen. With a dark chuckle, he slowly peeled himself off the wall and fixed his shirt. I opened my mouth to say something but there was a knock on the door. Edward smiled.

"Why don't you answer that, Bella?" I narrowed my eyes. What was he planning? While glaring, I stood up and after putting my dishes in the sink – in which time the doorbell rang again, whoever was outside was impatient – I walked out of the kitchen. On the way, I passed Laurent and Carlisle holding a discussion. Laurent was watching me with his usual curious expression. His eyes flickered once to Edward who had followed me out and then back to me. With a crimson flush I realized that from where he was standing he had seen what had happened between Edward and me. Angrily, I turned and smacked Edward in the shoulder. Edward only chuckled. I stomped over to the door and yanked it open. All my irritation faded in a rush of emotions.

Surprise. I'd never have thought to see him here. _Here _of all places.

Relief. He was smiling, not angry, or upset, and he was whole again.

Worry. _Why_ was he here? What was going on that I didn't know about?

Concern. He was tense. But not unrightfully so.

Happiness. He held out his arms. A childish laugh escaped my lips as I threw myself into Jacob Black's arms and he crushed me into a big bear hug.


	5. Treaty

Yay! Part five!

A question has come up: "Hey, idiot. What's your time frame?" Well, dear reader, it's difficult to say because it deviates from the books because, well, this is an AU. This is set after Eclipse, Victoria is dead. James is long gone. However, Jacob either hasn't recieved the wedding invitation from Edward, or he never ran off into the woods. Obviously. The fun part with timelines is that when you change one thing, everything changes. _ Butterfly Effect_ anyone? So I can totally justify raising Laurent from the dead and having that somehow effect Jacob being more amiable towards Bella despite the Bella's-Gonna-Be-A-Vampire thing. Why can I? Because I'm the author.

That reminds me: I may write the story, but I don't own the characters. Thank you, Stephenie!

And thank you Bloodsuckingleech for your input! I have the best beta in the world! Without anymore rambling, I present:

_Conscience,_ Part Five: Treaty

I heard a cough from behind me.

"Hello, Jacob," Edward's smooth voice said, but I could hear the tension underneath it. I untangled my arms from Jacob's neck and dropped to the floor and his arms unwound from around my body. I smiled and stepped back. That's when I noticed them. Quil and Embry, of course. I wasn't surprised, but Sam was pushing Billy's wheelchair.

"Oh," I said, stepping back as Sam nodded tensely as he pushed Billy on inside. I noticed it was just Edward standing in the entrance way. Slower than usual, Carlisle came around the corner and nodded to them.

"I'm glad you came," he said. Sam nodded tightly again, glancing around. I got the impression he wasn't happy to be in a vampire's house without his wolfy form. Billy seemed even more tense, perhaps because he didn't have a wolfy form. Embry and Quil stayed close beside Jacob. Jacob seemed to be the only one at ease as he lolled back on the balls of his feet effortlessly. He waved at Edward casually.

"Please, have a seat," Carlisle continued, gesturing towards the large living room. At first I had thought there would never be enough people to fill the Cullens' large living room, but after seeing four grown werewolves, the entire Cullen family, three extra vampires and two humans in it, I was wrong. Carlisle studied Sam for a moment, before asking, "Would you rather go someplace else? Some place more… neutral?" Sam glanced to Carlisle, parked Billy's chair, and settled into one of the sofas in the room.

"As long as no one in your family is adverse to it, I think this will be fine. It just… stinks." Carlisle chuckled apologetically and eased down into one of the armchairs across the room. Moving with deliberate slowness, Esme glided into the room and smiled at Sam. Sam stared back as Esme settled into the armrest near Carlisle.

I wondered if it had never occurred to Sam that vampires could be in love just like werewolves and humans. The only vampires Sam had known about were the ones spoken from the legends, the cruel, red-eyed ones that didn't really fall in love. They mated, but I realized most of those seemed to be of convenience. Not quite the same thing. Jacob just grinned at me as he led his entourage on in. The other two boys looked a little bit more at ease when they saw me.

"Hey Bella," Quil said.

"Vampire girl!" Most definitely Embry. The two double-teamed me with a bear hug. I stood no chance as their arms closed around me from two directions. Jacob had to help free me. Dragging his friends, they all collapsed into a sitting arrangement. Jacob sat next to Sam on the sofa and the other two took up residence in nearby armchairs. Sam was watching where Esme's fingers were laced with Carlisle's.

Jasper was next. I could tell before I even saw him. All the La Push boys' shoulders untensed, and Billy seemed to relax as Jasper settled into one of the other sofas. Alice danced in after them, winking at Sam as her pixie-like frame folded up next to Jasper's, hardly taking up any room. Emmett and Rosalie wandered in next. Rosalie sat in an armchair, and Emmett placed himself without complaint on the floor beside her, sitting cross-legged like a kid. He grinned at me.

Edward and I were still standing in the doorway. I looked to Carlisle. As if Carlisle could read the expression on my face – he probably could, actually – he spoke and answered my question before I had asked it.

"Yes, Bella. We want you to stay here, too. You're a part of this family now, and very much a part of everything that pertains to it." He nodded and I felt my heart turn over emotionally. Part of their family. I smiled and nodded back.

"Thank you." As I spoke, I noticed Sam make a peculiar expression at the word 'family.' Edward and I settled onto the floor. He sat down first, and as I started to sit beside him, his arms wrapped around me and pulled me into his lap. I heard Jacob make a gagging sound. Edward shot him a dirty look. I laughed.

"Now, now boys. Let's play nice," I said to lighten the tension.

"You don't know what thoughts he's having about you," Edward murmured into my ear.

"Jacob Black!" I grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at him. He caught it easily, a lopsided grin on his face. Stuffing it behind his head, he settled into the sofa to wait for the action to begin. Sam was giving him a dark look which Jacob shrugged off casually.

"I would like to introduce some friends of ours. Sam, this is Tanya, Irina, and Laurent." Carlisle gestured to them as the remaining three walked into the room and occupied the last remaining sofa. Sam stiffened slightly.

"More of you?" Esme stayed quietly patient at Carlisle's side as Sam bristled.

"And what if there are?" Emmett leaned forward, putting his arms on his knees, staring down Sam. Sam's eyes turned flat black.

"Okay, okay," I said, putting up my hands. "Emmett, take that back. Sam, he didn't mean it." This is stupid. They were going to eat each other before anything happened. "Yes, there are more. There are always more. But, as you can see, Sam, they're like the Cullens in their… uhm… diets. And I believe… though it isn't my place to say it, I believe they have agreed to honor the treaty. Carlisle?" Carlisle nodded, taking over.

"That is correct. Irina and Tanya have always been like us. They fed off of animals since before I discovered them up in Alaska. Laurent recently joined and has also adopted their lifestyle. They agreed that as long as they were here, they would not cross the boundaries into La Push without permission and they would follow everything we've already set ourselves to. I wanted you to meet them, Sam, so that your pack would know them as friend, not foe, should you cross paths on neutral ground." Sam nodded, still thoughtful.

"About that. The neutral ground," Sam began carefully. I felt my heart skip a beat. Every vampire's eyes flickered at me for a half second before looking back to Sam. All except Edward. He just squeezed my hand gently, reassuringly. "The council held session yesterday before coming here. We've… decided a few things." His eyes locked right onto mine and in the time it took my heart to stop beating and restart itself, I knew where this was going. "Dr. Cullen." Sam looked right at Carlisle now. "Carlisle," he said softer, this time. "Your family has always upheld their end of the treaty. It was you who suggested the treaty so many years ago. In over a hundred years, your family had done nothing to merit the mistrust of the Quileutes other than simply existing. You even put your own… existences in danger to help us protect this town from your own kind. A kind that did not follow your way of life, but your own nonetheless. You even work in a hospital surrounded by humans all the time. Bleeding, dying humans. And rumor has it you've never tasted human blood."

"That is correct," Carlisle stated matter-of-factly. I heard a hushed murmur ripple through the other three werewolves. Apparently that was not common knowledge.

"That being said, I think it's fair that, if you're willing, the Council proposes to disband the treaty until further notice." The room fell quiet. I swear even the werewolves could hear my heart pound. Did this mean what I thought it meant? Edward was the first to speak, his tone cautious, yet curious.

"Are you saying then, Sam, that… there are no more boundaries?"

"Provided no one comes down to La Push and tried to eat one of us, you and your family are welcome on Tribal ground. We only ask that you refrain from hunting there; animals are sacred to us," Sam said quietly.

Carlisle bowed his head quickly, "Of course, that won't be a problem." The heavy silence lightened a bit, but there was still an unspoken concern lingering in the air. Everyone knew about it. No one wanted to bring it up. I decided I had nothing to lose.

"Sam?" His eyes locked on mine, his face expressionless. He knew what I was about to ask. He was waiting for me to ask it. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "What about…? You know…" I inclined my head toward Edward ever so slightly, gesturing to the ring on my finger in the process. Billy surprised me by opting to answer instead of Sam.

"Bella. Whatever you choose to do with this life, give it up to him, that is your decision. We will not hold the Cullens to their treaty any longer. They must keep you as their own, though. Should you decide not to… conform, then you will be asked not to return." I nodded, holding my breath. I couldn't believe Billy of all people was saying it was alright for Edward to change me. I felt like there was a hitch somewhere that I hadn't seen yet. "As long as you wish to, you're welcome to come and visit once you are… stable." I nodded. That would be a year. Perhaps a little more. I could control myself. No, I _would_ control myself. "On one condition," Billy continued.

Oh no. I knew there was something. I felt Edward nudge me, a smile lingering on his lips. Billy glared at him; clearly not liking the idea Edward knew what he was about to say before he could say it. His glare clearly indicated that he wanted to be the dramatic one, and Edward was forbidden to reveal his thoughts before he could.

"Breathe, Bella." Edward's velvet words caused my lungs to begin contracting properly again.

"Yes, Billy?" As I watched him, his stern expression crumbled into a weak smile.

"Tell Charlie." My heart dropped from my chest.

"Wha, what?"

"Tell Charlie. Tell him what you plan to do. Everything. He deserves to know if you're going to run off and live for eternity."

"But Billy, even if I _could_, Charlie's not much younger than Harry! It's not safe… for his health to tell him that!" Billy smirked, almost wickedly.

"Do you think he won't approve of you marrying a vampire? He always did like Jacob better." Oh. So that's what this was about. I quirked my eyebrow at him.

"What do you think he would say if he knew the decision was between a werewolf and a vampire?" Billy's smile slipped a bit.

"You only have to tell him about the Cullens. If you don't, I will." I glanced to Carlisle.

"Doesn't this break some kind of pact with the Volturi or something?" Carlisle just shrugged.

"As long as he doesn't tell anyone, I think it will be fine."

"Do you think he will?"

"Edward will know if he does."

"He won't," Alice chirped. "I can see it because there aren't any wolves around. He won't. No worries. You can tell him tonight, Bella." I paled. I didn't really want to give him another reason to hate Edward. I looked to Billy. A thought occurred to me. Two could play this game.

"I'll tell him about Edward. You have to tell him about the werewolves."

"Or I'll tell him about Edward for you, and no werewolves," Billy replied coolly.

"Then I'll tell him about them." Billy narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Is this how it's going to be, Bella?" I tilted my chin up defiantly.

"It's only fair that he know, don't you think, Billy?" Sam chuckled in admiration and shrugged in Billy's direction.

"She has a point," Sam said. Billy scowled, clearly not liking how he had lost this.

"So are we in agreement? Neither secret leaves this room?" I pressed this firmly; I did not want Charlie knowing these things. How had Edward put this? Oh right. _Impasse_.

"Fine."

We sat like that, glaring. Billy vaguely resembled a second-grader who had thrown a temper tantrum and lost. I had to give Billy props for trying to dissuade me from my path. Too bad he hadn't counted on the werewolves. It was Carlisle who broke the silence.

"In the interest of remaining truthful, and giving no reason for distrust, I would like to mention that our friend Laurent was originally a part of James' coven." Jacob's eyes suddenly locked onto mine.

"Wasn't James the guy who bit you?" I nodded back to him quietly. Sam's expression was carefully concealed as he spoke.

"And why is he with your coven now?"

"He defected. Victoria was with James. When James decided to track Bella, Laurent left them to go join my friends in Denali, and has since adopted their ways and is paying a visit." Sam nodded slowly.

"I appreciate the honesty, Dr. Cullen."

"If anything should happen, we will not shield any transgressors." Sam nodded then looked pointedly at Laurent. Laurent just held up his hands and nodded, his smooth, French-accented voice filling the room.

"I understand, I understand."

"Then there is nothing more to be said here," Sam said as he stood up. Carlisle mirrored him. Each man took a step towards the middle of the room and at the middle, Sam extended his hand. Carlisle shook it. I couldn't keep the grin from exploding across my face. This was it! What I'd always wanted. My werewolf family and my vampire family getting along! Billy's expression was sad, mourning, in a way. Jacob was relatively happy, and he hopped up and ran over to me. I heard Irina and Tanya gasp when he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me to my feet. Perhaps it was a surprise my vampire boyfriend let me hang out with a werewolf. I laughed as he spun me around, and then set me down on my feet.

"Wanna go ride motorcycles?" The thought made my heart skip, and I turned and looked up at Edward. He was watching us, his face calm. His eyes, however, betrayed him. Part of him wanted me to go and have fun. Part wanted me to stay nearby where he would know I was safe.

"I'll wear the jacket and helmet, okay? I'll be fine. I won't go _too_ fast. Promise. Okay?" Edward looked between the two of us, and then nodded painfully. He looked to Jacob last.

"Please keep her safe." Jake nodded and before I could say anything, he grabbed my hand and started dragging me out the door. I glanced over my shoulder to mouth the words 'I love you' back to him. He just flashed his crooked grin in my direction. The door banged shut and I stumbled after Jacob.

We stopped by the garage so I could grab my jacket and helmet. I noticed Jacob had ridden his motorcycle. There it was, parked in the driveway in all its glory. I wheeled mine out of the garage and settled into the seat. I'll admit I almost knocked the bike over when I tried to start it. It started this time on the first go, and I was off racing ahead of Jake.

It felt amazing to have the wind in my hair again. I could hear him behind me, but I didn't look, just hunched over the handlebars, peeling out onto the pavement, letting the ground fly away beneath me. Becoming a vampire was certainly going to come with its perks. I flashed a grin over at Jacob as his motorcycle came up alongside mine. He laughed back. I was so happy that the treaty had dissolved. Now if I could just get my werewolf best friend to not hate me when I became a stinking bloodsucker, life would be good.

One hurdle at a time.


	6. Pet

Woohoo! Part six! I thought I'd throw you for a spin... and do it a little different this time. It's shorter, but we get a little insight from our resserected vampire. Yummy. Thank you BloodsuckingLeech, I love my beta!

Please, please, please, as much as I love reviews saying 'loved it!' I really really do want to know what precisely you liked and what you didn't like. How do you think I did with his perspective? Does it seem natural? Your criticism makes me a better writer, and I can't get that kind of help anywhere else. If you review me, (please do!) please let me know where I can improve and what you liked in particular. Thanks so much!

On with the show!

_Conscience_, Part Six: Pet

I watched her go. It was all so strange. This entire family was strange. They were the werewolves she'd told me about the other night. And yet Edward had had no problem with letting her go hang out with him. It seemed strange. _Why,_ I thought.

"Because he makes her happy, Laurent. But you wouldn't know anything about that," a voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Edward leaning against the doorway. He, too, had looked out the window over my shoulder and watched her speed away with the werewolf boy. I tried to look unfazed as he read my thoughts, but I think my face betrayed something. He was smirking.

"Jacob saved her," he continued, nodding at the dust trail they had left behind.

"She seems to care for him," I mused quietly.

"You have _no_ idea." I looked to Edward, studying his expression.

"She loves him." It wasn't a question. He just shrugged. "But she loves you more?" I was hedging a bit, but it was worth the shot. He nodded.

"So she says. She'd be so much safer with him, but that's Bella. Never did listen to reason," he murmured, smiling at some memory that I was not privy to. "But I won't complain. I can't live-" He stopped speaking, and his faced turned cold. "I don't know why I'm telling _you_ this." I winced slightly, then changed the subject a bit.

"I think he's in love with her," I injected.

"Of course he is. Who wouldn't be? She's the most trusting… warmest… most beautiful soul I know… And he's so much better for her than I am."

"Then why do you get her?" It was a difficult question to ask politely and his eyes slid dangerously to mine.

"Because she chose me," Edward said darkly before turning and walking out of the room._ Because she chose me._ The thought echoed around in my head as I turned to look out the window again. Of course they were gone, but they left so much confusion in their wake. Who _was_ this girl? When I'd seen her last… there had been nothing extraordinary about her. And yet. I shook my head and walked out of the room.

There was so much to absorb. The Cullens were truly strange and foreign on so many levels. They related more to humans than other vampires, it seemed. A family. They honestly were like a family. Carlisle was the father, the head of the house. The five 'children' treated him like that, and the woman… Esme, I believe, was like their mother. They weren't a _coven_, made up of sets of mates, all bonded together out of convenience. They were like a true, human family. Together because they cared about each other, not for convenience. It was something I wasn't used to.

James and Victoria had been mates. But their relationship was nothing like Edward and Bella's, or Carlisle and Esme's or any of the sets. James and Victoria were together because they complimented each other. Victoria was a devil at getting out of sticky situations and she was fierce when backed into a corner. James was a tracker. He could hunt anything down, no matter where it was. Put them together and you have a team that could find anything anywhere in the world, destroy it, and then slip away as if they had never existed. Frightening, really. They'd needed me, the odd, third wheel. They were both so vicious in their ways they'd never been good at dealing with others without killing them. They'd needed someone who could persuade, manipulate, even. Sometimes a need for information arose, and killing someone rarely yielded information. I was their speaker.

Even Tanya's coven wasn't quite like this. Back in Denali, it was different. Sure the diet was the same, but the lifestyle was… different. Tanya, Irina and Kate… aren't quite the average vampire. Indulging in… practices. Practices that would make little Bella's skin turn bright red if she had any idea. I chuckled at the thought only to hear a low growl from Edward in the other room. Biting back a grin, I turned my thoughts away from _sa chérie_.

But still. Though Tanya's coven were all together, united by an unusual circumstance; vegetarianism as they liked to call it, they weren't a _family_. It was strange. More than strange. _Incroyable._

And the werewolves. Had this girl united vampire and werewolf? What was it about her that attracted all sorts of beings? Even I found myself being drawn to her. If nothing else, she certainly smelled nice and was an attractive piece of flesh physically.

_Because she chose me._

But there was more. So much more. Things I was only beginning to understand about her. The way the burly one – Emmett, I think – was so protective of her, like an older brother. And the psychic; Alice, she treated Bella like a sister. Jasper watched her from afar but always with admiration in his eyes. I wasn't quite sure why he stayed away. I could see that he wanted to run to her and hug her like all the others, but he didn't. I sensed there was some deep story rooted between those two. And the blonde one. The gorgeous one. She could so easily do what Tanya does. She didn't dislike the human, but she certainly didn't adore her as much as the others did. I didn't understand that part. There were so many unseen faces with this family. I'm sure they all knew each other's secrets, especially with Edward reading minds.

They were all watching us. Me, mostly. Carlisle had known Tanya and Irina for… well, a long time. They were sitting in the dining room – I had to laugh. They bothered to have a dining room. They bothered to have a _house_. Dr. Cullen was… beyond comprehensible. And they distrusted me. I didn't blame them. Especially Edward. Here I was; the only surviving member of a coven that had, one by one, tried to kill Bella. I wasn't surprised they expected me to turn on her at any second. Regardless, it grew irritating knowing everywhere I went there was a pair of eyes on me. Didn't they realize I had actually abstained from human blood this long? If I were going to cheat, it wouldn't be on Edward's little pet.

Pet wasn't quite the right word. It was such a foreign ground that I hadn't ever seen with my kind before. Pet was the easiest word, but it wasn't necessarily the right one. Room freshener? She certainly did that. I inhaled deeply and felt the venom start to coat my fangs and the fire in my throat. I winced as another snarl echoed from the other room.

I felt my irritation growing at the fact that I could hardly hold a conversation in my head without Edward growling at me for one reason or another. And thus, I took a walk.

I stepped out of their house and down the stairs after Carlisle cheerfully reminded me not to feed on any people or werewolves – disgusting notion – and to stay away from the animals on the reservation. I didn't want dinner, I just wanted fresh air and away from the mind-reader.

Before I realized anything, I was running through the woods. Running, not just walking. The trees were flying by and the grass was whishing around my ankles. It felt good to run, although it hadn't been too long ago Irina and Tanya and I had been out.

_C'était __comme __un __rêve._

I hadn't even realized what direction I had taken off into. I became vaguely aware of the sounds of motors. With a groan, I realized I couldn't keep running like this; a human might see me. My unplotted course had brought me closer to civilization. And a road. I slowed to a walk and meandered along the side of a highway, still hidden beneath the trees. The hum grew louder, and I paused to locate myself.

I was standing behind some trees and brush. About 20 feet in front of me, the road snaked by before completing a hairpin turn. I stood at the crux of the turn at the bend. Across the road, a small but deep lake rested. I was about to continue walking along the road when I heard it.

"Watch it! Don't go any faster!"

"I've got it, Jake! I used to go this fast plenty of times!"

The hum wasn't that of a car. It was that of motorcycles. I stepped back further into the trees.

"Bella! Watch it! You're going to lose control on the curve!"

"You're just jealous I'm ahead of you!"

"No, I'm not! You've got to _slow down _or you'll never make the turn!"

"Watch me."

"Bella!"


	7. Savior

Part seven! I really don't have a whole lot to say about this, just thank you to BloodsuckingLeech. Having a beta makes it easier and more fun. Like before, if you review me (which I love!) please let me know what you did and did not like so that I can become a better author. I think, after all, I'll stick to the original title I came up with. It's growing on me. Yay! Here we go.

_Conscience_, Part Seven: Savior

I was being stupid. I knew it. Jacob knew it. And Edward would know it soon. He was going to kill me. Hopefully he wouldn't hurt Jacob. I came around the corner much faster than I anticipated. Sure enough, the hairpin turn was sitting there, waiting for me. The road went straight before turning sharply to the right at something like one hundred and twenty degrees. If I braked now, I might lose control. I had no choice but to hit the turn at the ridiculous speed I was going and pray I stayed on the road.

I had taken this turn at breakneck speeds before. Unfortunately, I hadn't accounted for the layer of water on the pavement. As soon as I started into the turn, leaning into the curve, I felt the water splash up on my face. I knew in that second that the bike wasn't coming back up. This was going to hurt.

I cursed.

Jacob yelled.

The tires squealed.

And then the bike started to roll. I was leaning sharply to the right so that the bike could take the turn. Normally it would straighten once around the corner. This time, the tires didn't have the traction to stay at the angle they were. My weight was going to pull it over without the traction of dry pavement. It kept falling to the right. The bike was going to keep falling over before skidding across the ground. And half my body was going to be shredded underneath it.

I kicked my foot off of the right pedal, trying to detangle myself from the soon-to-be wreck. Maybe I could leap for safety. This was one time I so dearly wished for vampire speed. I felt like I was made of molasses. The road was coming up to meet my right side much too fast. I felt like I couldn't move fast enough, like my legs and arms were coated in cement. Each movement I made was slow and hindered and there was just no way that I could get free before I got grated into the ground. At least I had the jacket and the helmet on.

I tried to push off the bike but I knew the ground was there. As predicted, I smashed into something very hard. The small fact that the impact came from a different direction than originally anticipated didn't register right away. I winced, bracing, waiting for it to rip my leg to pieces.

Instead, I plunged under liquid. Was this blood? I couldn't see and all I could feel was lukewarm liquid all around me. The wreck had completely shredded me. I must be lying in a pool of my own blood. Where was Jacob? Shouldn't he be somewhere freaking out? Maybe he hadn't caught up yet.

I was jerked above the water - or was it blood?, still unable to see clearly. I felt a force on my head before my helmet was pulled off. Now my hair was plastered to my face from all the blood. My sight was cleared and the first thing I realized was that it _wasn't_ blood after all. Just water. I saw the helmet thump on the ground yards away. My eyes wandered around, taking in my surroundings. I was bobbing in a small lake, just off to the side of the hairpin turn. The bike was in the bushes on the other side of the road on its side. There were skid marks across thirty feet of road. I shuddered when I realized those could've been made with my blood. Somehow I had ended up on the opposite side of the road than where the bike was headed. As if something had caught me and moved me out of its trajectory.

Then I saw Jacob. He was running toward me but he skidded to a stop, freezing. His eyes narrowed, and his body started trembling. He let out a low growl, doubling over. I recognized his actions as Jacob repressing the urge to phase.

Then I became acutely aware of two things. There was something tight around my waist and cold against my back, and I understood who, precisely, had moved me out of harm's way. Only my vampire. Relief and anger both flooded me. I was ecstatic he was here but furious he didn't trust Jake. I turned around in the water to glare at Edward, only to come nose to nose with… not Edward.

"…Laurent!"

"_Oui_?"

It was odd to be so close to such a foreign face. On pure instinct I pushed off his chest to put more distance between us. Despite his golden colored eyes glinting at me from under his tussled, damp dark hair, I didn't want to be so close to his mouth. It would've made no difference if he wanted to eat me, the small two feet of space wouldn't have stopped him, but it made me feel better at least. Even Jacob wouldn't have been able to phase and save me if he attacked.

He could've easily held me tight but he granted me my space and nodded in my direction as I treaded water, studying him.

"Are you alright?" I nodded in response, still studying him. He was beautiful, like all the other vampires I had met. He had dark hair. It fell before his golden eyes like damp spikes, water droplets dripping from their ends. His shirt was plastered to his body, leaving little to imagine of his defined chest. _Like Edward,_ I thought. But not like Emmett.

The grass rustled beside me and I looked up to see Jacob standing over us, his face and jaw taught with the suppressed urge to eat Laurent. Roughly, he shoved his hand down to me. I reached up with both hands and took his palm and with one swift movement he hoisted me out of the water and onto my feet.

"Are you alright," Jacob inquired, his expression softening as it moved from Laurent to me. I sighed. I had a feeling I would hear that question several more times before the day was over. …Or maybe not. Alice wouldn't be able to see this. Jacob was with me. I smiled slowly.

"Yes, yes," I answered quickly.

"Edward's going to kill me," Jacob whined.

"We don't have to tell him." I smiled, but he just shook his head.

"One of us is going to think about it sooner or later, and then he'll know, even if the psychic didn't see it." He nodded at Laurent, who was climbing out of the pond now, when he said 'us.' My face fell. Even if we could get by with not mentioning it when I went home and somehow managed to explain why Laurent and I were soaked… Laurent wouldn't be able to never think about it. I sighed.

"Probably should tell him then. He seems to take it better when I'm completely honest with him," I said, walking over to pick up my fallen helmet. I glanced over to Jacob over my shoulder. His face was very serious. My heart grew heavier. I glanced to Laurent. He looked somber, too.

"Thank you." He had been regarding Jacob and his eyes snapped to mine when I spoke. He looked confused, so I continued. "I don't know why, but you saved my life. Or at least… you saved me a lot of pain." I tossed my helmet up once and caught it.

"It was nothing," his lightly-accented voice floated across the air back to me. I snuck a peek at Jacob. He was glaring at me still. After a moment, a smile cracked across his face.

"I told you so," he said casually. "I told you that you'd never make that turn at that speed."

"I didn't realize the road was wet."

"How could you not? You were spraying it all over me!"

"That's because you were behind me, eating my dust. Water, apparently," I retorted in good nature. I had this feeling that a do-over was going to surface soon. A rematch. If Edward ever let me ride the bike again. I groaned suddenly. Laurent was first to respond.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Just dreading explaining to Edward how I almost killed myself." A silence fell on us, and I bit my lip before adding, "Again." Laurent and Jacob both chuckled lightly and I rolled my eyes then marched over to the bike. After quite a bit of effort, I managed to put it back on its side, and then looked at Jacob.

"Think we can fix it?" He shrugged.

"I can fix anything, Bella," he said, grinning at me. I returned the grin. His eyes drifted to Laurent and the two studied each other for a moment, the smile slipping from Jacob's features. I could feel the tension slowly start to escalate around me. Biting my lip I fought with the bike trying to keep it standing.

"Why don't we head back and get this over with, then?" I winced slightly as the bike fell over, pulling me on top of it. I grunted and struggled to my feet.

Laurent's cold hand grabbed my upper arm gently – more gently than Edward ever did, perhaps he didn't know how strong he could hold me and decided to err on the side of gentle – and tugged me to my feet. I started to bend forward to fight with the bike again, but he stopped me and surprised me again. With a dramatic sweep he had lifted up the hunk of metal and carried it like one would carry a flower basket; as if it weighed nothing. Jacob hid any emotional reaction to that and kicked his bike so that he could push it.

We walked like that, Laurent carrying my bike on my left and Jacob pushing his on the right.

"So you know this guy and the other vampires at the house," Jacob asked me conversationally, but I could sense something beneath the question.

"Not the others. I met them for the first time when they came, but Carlisle has known them for quite a while. Before Carlisle settled here with his family, I think they spent some time together in Alaska, but there were too many, so they moved here."

"What about him?" Jacob inclined his head to Laurent who was remaining quiet through this encounter. Neither of us spoke up for a moment and I could feel Jacob's curiosity starting to peak.

"We've… met before," I hedged. Jacob studied me closely for a moment, and I glanced to him out of the corner of my eye. "Back when you were still human." I nudged him playfully, and he nudged me back. The problem was Jacob's muscled frame sent me stumbling into Laurent. I steadied myself and murmured an apology. Jacob snickered, then sobered.

"It would be so much easier, wouldn't it? If I were human?" Jacob's question startled me and I turned to look at his face. It was sad, contorted with some kind of pain. I draped my arm around his shoulder and squeezed him in a half-hug before letting go.

"No, I don't think so."

"Why's that?"

"If you were human, Jake, I couldn't tell you anything. We couldn't be like this. I'd have to hide everything from you, about Edward, about the Cullens, and about… next month." I nodded. "To you, I'd just disappear to go off to college for a year and not be able to find the time to visit. Eventually I'd come back… but… there'd be something different that you couldn't quite place." I gave him a reassuring smile as he scowled.

"So you're still going to go become a bloodsucker." It wasn't a question. I let my smile fade and refused to answer. "Don't," he pleaded suddenly, startling me. "Pick me. Stay with me. You can stay human, he doesn't have to have you, and if he does, we can protect you." I knew where he was going with this as he started to slip into the pack plural. "There isn't anyone we can't protect you from, Bella. You don't have to do this."

"I _want_ to," I said through clenched teeth, I was tired of having this discussion. I sighed. "I love him, Jacob. You saw what happened when he went away. I can't do that. I'll still be Bella. I won't change. Not inside. And I'll be a more durable Bella. We can go play. I'll come back and visit… …if you still want to see me, that is." I risked a glance in his direction and he sighed, rolling his eyes to the sky before thwapping me on the back of the head.

"You better come and visit or we'll have to track you down." I laughed, falling back into an easy step, grateful that the storm had passed. It had been weird; I didn't feel awkward talking about such things in front of Laurent. When I checked Laurent's facial expression, he was staring ahead. As if he felt my eyes on him – or perhaps he heard my head turn in the wind – he glanced down, a warm smile on his face. I smiled back.

By now, we had made our way to the Cullens'. Jacob quietly set his bike up in the driveway, and took the mangled one from Laurent's hands. Poor Jake, he tried so hard to save me. He ran to the garage to try and set it inside before anyone noticed. Except Edward was standing on the porch, waiting.

My destroying angel. He crossed his arms slowly and purposefully across his chest and just stared at the three of us. Jacob set the bike down halfway between us and the garage before loping back over to us. I looked down at the helmet in my hands meekly.

Edward was staring at Laurent, and after a minute he gave a snarl and looked to Jacob.

"Is that what happened?"

"I don't know what he thought," Jacob replied tartly. Edward's lips pressed together tightly.

"With the turn, and the pond and Bella losing control?"

"Sounds about right." Edward was standing in front of us within a heartbeat. He looked down at Jacob coldly, as if contemplating what to do. He shrugged, then turned his attention on Laurent.

"Why," Edward asked, rather growled, after a moment. Laurent looked startled by the question.

"_Pourquoi__ pas_? Why wouldn't I save her if I could," Laurent's French rolled off his tongue as he studied Edward's cautious expression with confusion.

Edward's eyes narrowed faintly before closing completely. With an exasperated sigh, he opened them and looked down at me.

"Why, Bella," he asked quietly this time. I just stared at him, and he continued. "Why do you keep finding ways to scare me to death?" Without waiting for a response, his arms wrapped around me and pulled me against his chest, lifting me off the ground and into his arms. The helmet fell to the ground with a thud. One hand wrapped around my legs holding me up as I curled against him, his other hand wrapped around my back and rested on the back of my head. "I'm so happy you're safe." He kissed my temple, then my cheek, once on the lips and once on the neck.

Satisfied, he turned and carried me back towards the house, leaving Jacob and Laurent exchanging awkward glances. I wrapped my arms around Edward's neck and peeked over his shoulder at Jacob. He looked dejected. I waved at him faintly.

"Later, Bells…"

"Thank you, Jacob. For being there for me," I murmured as Edward opened the front door, carrying me inside. I heard his motorcycle start up and I heard him peel out. When I glanced over Edward's shoulder, I saw Laurent had followed him inside and after tossing me a strange look, went to join Irina and Tanya in the den. He was carrying the helmet which he set on a table. Edward didn't seem to notice. Or pretended not to.

"You need some dry clothes," he murmured into my neck. "And maybe a hot shower. How does that sound?" I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest. "Or a bubble bath. You'd probably prefer the modesty of the bubbles to an open shower…" My heart stopped when I realized the implications. I wasn't going to be alone. My skin turned a flaming red as he carted me up the stairs. He just chuckled against my skin, kissing me again.


	8. Bubbles

Hooray. More. Sorry if this seems like filler, it really is important, I promise.

Warning: Steamy Fluff Ahead. Continue at will.

_Conscience_, Part Eight: Bubbles

Admittedly, I had been nervous. The look in Edward's eyes had turned my insides to fire. That look was not one I was not unused to. His gaze had smoldered with want. It wasn't for want of blood, though. It was a lust for flesh. My skin tingled and my stomach flip-flopped. It had been anticlimactic when he set me on my feet in the bathroom and shut the door behind me, leaving me alone with my privacy. I didn't know where to be relieved or sad.

Regardless, now that he has suggested it, the temptation of a bubble bath was way too strong to ignore. I walked over to the large bathtub and knelt down beside the faucets. Turning them on, I let the water warm to my liking – rather hot. A bottle of bubble bath was set on the ledge. I watched the water foam up after pouring a couple capfuls under the stream.

Satisfied that the water would be warm enough, I stood up and removed my clothing, folding them into a nice pile. Wrapping my hair up in a bun to keep it out of the soap, I slipped into the bathtub. It was deeper than I had thought, the bubbles rising up to my shoulders already. I half-crawled, half-swam across the hefty expanse to shut the water off. I sat in front of the faucet a moment longer, and then turned to maneuver back to the other side. I froze.

There, lying against the side of the bathtub was Edward.

I felt my skin turn bright red, and quickly checked to make sure the bubbles were censoring the necessities. They were. Edward sat on the ground outside the tub, his arm propped up leisurely against the rim, his golden eyes watching me. I tucked my chin down shyly, only half-half turned to face him.

Since the water lapped just below my shoulders, the unmentionables were pretty safe. I turned around completely and moved over to where he was. I stopped in front of him and placed my fingertips on the edge of the rim next to his arm. I waited for him to say something. He didn't.

"Hi," I whispered quietly after a moment. He only smiled, his hand coming up to rest on top of mine on the rim. His icy fingers trailed along my fingertips in shocking contrast with the hot water.

Without warning, Edward leaned in, his hand coming up to take the side of my face. Before I realized it, Edward had returned my greeting with a deep kiss.

Instinctively, I raised my hands and took his face in my hands, pulling him closer to me. His tightly closed lips kissed with as much need and want as any man with a plundering tongue could muster.

Why did I feel like I was forgetting something? My head was swimming, I could hardly think. I did notice my heart was beating rapidly. Edward chuckled quietly before slowly pulling away and staring at me.

"Breathe," he said quietly. I inhaled, realizing my lungs felt like fire. He just shook her head, looking down as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his two fingers in a classic Edward move. "What am I going to do with you…?"

I just smiled sheepishly in response. We lapsed into a comfortable quiet. I studied Edward's perfect features, his hand would, on occasion, brush lightly over my cheek.

Casually, his hand dipped into the water.

"A bit warm, don't you think?" Sweet velvet. I just smiled at him shyly.

"I like the water hot," I said matter-of-factly. Leave it to Edward to tell me how I could injure myself in a bath.

"But it will burn you…" His voice was soft, but I sensed a trace of something else in it. A thought occurred to me. I was perpetually amazed by how grateful I was that he couldn't read my mind.

"Yes, it could… we can't have that now, can we?" I murmured. His eyes were suddenly wary, but definitely interested. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine before pulling away.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked softly, our noses touching. I smiled quietly in response.

"I mean that maybe you should protect me."

"Protect you from what?" Edward was alarmed and started to pull away completely, looking around the room. I grabbed his shirt and guided his attention back to me, bringing our noses back together.

"From the hot water…" Without another word, I leaned in and kissed his lips again. He did not pull away this time, instead his cool hands slid up to my shoulders. My hands tightened on his shirt and I tugged. He seemed confused at first. As I leaned back and continued to pull, he understood.

Obliging me, Edward leaned in, allowing me to guide him into the bath water. First one leg, then the other, and then my dazzling vampire boyfriend was practically on top of me in a bubble bath. Heaven.

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling myself closer. Edward's cool hands found their way down to my waist, but he was very careful to be aware of where his hands were going.

Without breaking the intense bond between our lips, my fingers began working the buttons of his shirt. I fumbled with the second one and his hands abandoned my waist to help. Within seconds, his black collared shirt was in a damp pile on the floor of the bathroom. I went to lean closer against him, and I… slipped.

Without warning, my arm bracing against his marble chest slipped against his wet skin. The next second, my hair was fanned around me, the tie had come loose. Bubbles escaped past my lips.

Cold hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up above water. Edward was just staring at me, his eyes wide with fear as I choked on the water. I smiled weakly at him, my hair plastered to my face and dripping down my skin pathetically. Then Edward surprised me.

He laughed. His laughter was not his usual, quiet musical laughter. This was like a symphony, full and vivacious. I couldn't help but smile, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. The last time Edward had ever laughed like this was when he took me running through the woods the first time. He hadn't laughed so lively since… well; we don't speak of that time. It hurt too much. I had been afraid he would never laugh like that again. It filled me with such warming joy to know that, perhaps after all, we were able to completely heal.

Without fully thinking about the repercussions of my actions, I threw my arms around him and squeezed him in a hug. I felt his body still beneath me; a low, sensual, rumbling growl came from his throat. He didn't move; he wasn't even pretending to breathe. I looked up at him, confused, my own heart hammering. What was it?

His head bowed down and his lips brushed against my ear.

"Bella," he whispered, "think about what you're wearing." Realization dawned on me. My chest was pressed into his. And neither of us was wearing shirts. I wasn't wearing anything, and Edward just had pants on. As I turned bright red, I heard him chuckle.

Like lightning, I dropped down into the hot water and just peered up at him from my safety with the bubbles.

"S-sorry," I murmured. His eyes snapped down to mind, amusement reflected in their lovely ocher depths.

"Sorry? I didn't mind, but I thought you might…" His lips twitched into a smile. Without warning, he stood up. The water ran off of his marble body like a waterfall. His chest was perfect; his arms, toned. He let himself drip into the bathtub a little bit before taking a towel. First he toweled off his arms, then his chest. He mussed his hair lightly, then glanced down to his soaked, clinging pants. I couldn't help my eyes. They trailed down the contours of his legs shamelessly. When I looked back up to him, he was staring at me, an amused look on his face again.

And again, I blushed furiously.

"S-sorry." I seemed to say that a lot. This time, he said nothing. Smirking, he slowly wrapped the towel around his waist. Without ever taking his eyes from mine, he reached under the towel, and with a swift yank, his damp pants pooled around his calves, floating in the water, leaving Edward with just a towel around his waist. I think my eyes popped.

Chuckling, he stepped out of the pants and then out of the bathtub, picking up the pants with the shirt. Without another word, the cheater exited the bathroom, leaving me sitting amidst the bubbles, still the color of crimson silk.

Carefully, I stepped out of the bathtub, careful not to slip and fall. I wrapped myself in the large fuzzy towel sinfully. I loved hot water far too much for my own good. My skin had turned pink beneath the steaming liquid. Draining it, I let the last of the water drip from my body before toweling off. Tucking it under my arms, I gathered my clothes and pulled open the bathroom door.

For lack of any other place to go, I meandered toward Edward's bedroom. On the way, I passed the smaller of the two new vampires. Irina. She was leaning against the wall staring at me. Her dark eyes were like embers. They weren't the same passionate embers I got from Edward, not at all like the ones that made my heart flutter and my skin blush. These were quite the opposite; my heart stopped and my skin paled. Her look was nearly identical to the look Edward gave me the very first day I sat down next to him. I wondered briefly if I smelled good to her, too, like I did to Edward.

We just stared; Irina leaning against his doorframe, glaring at me, and me standing stupidly in the hallway cowering with just a towel on me. Slowly, her eyes lifted off of me and glanced to something behind me.

"This little thing?" Her voice was low and menacing. I flinched away before turning to see whom she was speaking to. Laurent had come up the stairs and now stood silently behind me. His eyes lifted off of me and onto Irina. "_Her?_" Again, Irina all but hissed. I winced. Laurent opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't get the chance.

"That is enough," Edward's cool, velvet voice sliced through the tension around us like a knife. Both Irina and Laurent turned their gaze on him and I felt relief wash through me. Leave it to Edward to save me.

Edward was staring coldly at Irina. After a moment, he nodded.

"Noted," he purred. "But, you can't really blame her." Irina gave some sort of indifferent shrug and rolled off of Edward's doorframe. She strode toward me, her eyes cold and dangerous as she walked by. Behind me, Irina wrapped her arms around Laurent and dragged him off. I could hear a quick, murmured exchange between them, but my ears couldn't make out what was said.

Edward's eyes remained on their retreating forms before falling to mine and softening. I sighed, relieved as I started walking to him again.

"You're not going to tell me what that was about, are you?" He cracked a devastating half-smile in response.

"Actually, I am," he said, much to my surprise. "After you get dressed." I blushed, realizing I was still in just the towel. I walked past him into his bedroom. On the bed, Alice had laid out a second set of clothes. I turned to get the door, but Edward had closed it after I walked in while he remained outside.

Eager to be with him again, I quickly tossed aside the towel and crawled into the clean set of undergarments, blue jeans and fitted tee. I should thank Alice. She was being kind to me. If she were so inclined, she could easily bring me some kind of dress and set of heels to wear. I ran my hand through my damp hair to straighten it a bit before bounding to the door and tossing it open.

Before it had even swung all the way, Edward's arms were around me, his face buried in the crook of my neck.

"Let's go to the meadow," he was murmuring. "Then we can talk, no one will hear." My heart was racing and I could only nod dumbly. Reluctantly, he let go of me. Stepping back, he reached out and gently touched the damp hair hanging around my face. His hand stayed brushed against my cheek before slipping down, the back of his hand trailing down my arm until it clasped my hand. With a tug, I followed him out the door.

Down the stairs, he led me, and into the living room. Edward pulled me through the front door before turning to face me, and then offered his hand to help me onto his back.

I settled into place, locking my knees at his side and my arms around his neck. I tucked my chin down on top of his shoulder, but kept my eyes open. I could hardly remember a time when flying like this made me sick. Now, it was liberating. I loved the feeling.

Without a warning, Edward was off. As usual, his form barely moved beneath mine, and were my eyes not open, I would think he was just taking a leisurely walk. The trees flew by around us, but I no longer feared danger. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the exhilarating emotions that flooded my body. The adrenaline was addicting.

All too soon, he was slowing to a stop in the clearing. Reluctantly, I released my grip on his neck and dropped down onto the ground. My legs were a little weak from the run, as usual, and so they didn't support me. Before I knew it, I was sitting on my rear in the grass. That was fine; I wanted to sit, anyway. With a chuckle, Edward folded himself gracefully across from me. Uh oh.

He wasn't sitting next to me. That meant this was serious. I tried to calm the butterflies in my stomach. The butterflies were so frantic that it was turning to nausea. What was going on? Edward lowered his gaze down to where he was pressing his fingertips together lightly. Whatever he had to say was difficult. I felt my head swim with dizziness. What could be that bad?

"Bella," he began quietly, then paused to reassemble his thoughts. I bit my lip to keep from saying anything; I knew he would continue when he figured out how. If Edward of all people were having difficulty forming the thought correctly, then it was difficult to say.

"Did you notice… the way Irina looked at you?" He finally finished. I blinked. Some of the butterflies subsided. That wasn't so bad. But he still wasn't looking at me. There was more to it than this; he was just easing into it. I became nauseous again.

"…Yes. I don't think she likes me much," I whispered, my voice barely getting it out without breaking. Edward nodded, still studying his fingers.

"She doesn't." I winced. I knew that I really shouldn't care, but the idea of someone disliking – or even hating – me really bothered me. "Tanya adores you. But Irina…" He trailed off, shaking his head lightly. He glanced up at me finally; the full force of his ocher eyes nearly left me breathless.

"Why doesn't she like me?" I couldn't help but ask; it just bothered me. I wanted to be friends with all the vampires in the world; an otherwise ridiculous notion, but a want just the same. Edward's expression turned peculiar.

"I'm not sure… Jasper says its jealousy."

I choked. What was it with these ridiculously gorgeous vampires being jealous of me? I eyed Edward warily.

"Because I'm human?"

Edward made a funny expression. "That's the thing; it's not because of that. Irina loves what she is… and what she does." What she does…?

"What does she do?"

Edward squirmed uncomfortably. I frowned. He reached across and took my hands into his, rubbing his thumb in slow circles over the backs of my hands. His eyes were on our hands, not on me.

"Irina… and Tanya for that matter are… what you think of as succubae," he said slowly, not raising his eyes to look at me. I was grateful; it took me several seconds to get my face under control. "Breathe, Bella," he murmured before raising his gaze.

"They're… _what?_" I could hardly breathe, the question was a whisper. Edward smirked.

"They enjoy the pleasures of life," he said carefully. I was alright with this. It didn't affect me directly, after all. Then my heart stopped as something hit me.

"Edward. You said… you stayed with them… Did you…" Panic was rising, I couldn't control the adrenaline as my hands clenched into fists in his hands. I felt his cool hands quickly pry mine open gently, one hand coming up to touch my cheek. He just shook his head.

"Shh, Bella. I promised I would never lie to you after what happened the one time I did… and I mean it now, I meant everything I said. You are my only, Bella. There was never one before you, and the Stars know there will never be one after you." My heart melted as he leaned across the distance between us, his stone lips brushing against mine. I felt better. When he pulled away, another question jumped from my tongue unchecked.

"Is that why Irina hates me then? Because you never…?" I couldn't bring myself to finish the question, and Edward chuckled.

"It's possible. I'm not sure, though. She's being especially careful about her thoughts, and Jasper only knows its jealousy." He scooted closer, wrapping his arms around me. I curled into them, inhaling his scent. I felt his chest rise as he did the same to me.

"I don't need to worry though, right? I mean, Rosalie never attacked me…" His chest vibrated with a low chuckle. I pressed my ear against it further; it was a funny feeling.

"No, Irina isn't going to hurt you. If she decides to, Alice will know, and I will hear it coming. You don't need to worry. Laurent is being especially good, too." There was an edge in his voice. I glanced up at him, but he just smiled serenely down at me.

"You're not going to explain that, are you?"

He just bowed his head and pressed his cold lips against my forehead.

"Later, I will. When I'm sure."

"Sure about-" Before I could finish the question, his lips captured mine. Fire washed through my insides, smoldering. My hands wrapped around his neck. Before I realized it, I was on my back in the grass, Edward over me, kissing my lips with as much intensity as he possibly could without hurting me. It was almost too much to bare, my human instincts kicking into overdrive. His hands rested at my waist, his fingers curling slightly about the fabric of my shirt. My head was spinning, I could hardly breathe and my skin was on fire.

Edward broke it off predictably, pulling back. His eyes were alive with fire. He wanted so badly to be able to give into his urges, I wanted so badly for him to be able to, but we both knew that wasn't possible. Yet.

After a moment, he rolled off of me and lay beside me, gathering me in his arms. I curled against his chest, my ear pressed against it. His hand traced circles on my back. We laid like that for who knows how long. On occasion, he would bend his head down and kiss the top of my head. Bliss. Pure heaven. I could stay like that forever.


	9. Kidnapped!

Hooray! And update! And just in time for Christmas! Happy Christmas/whatever-Holiday-you-celebrate! Thank you, BloodsuckingLeech. My amazing beta is always keeping me honest. I planned to knock everyone's socks off by posting this, and a chapter from Cupcakes AND a fluffy oneshot. But no dice. I got so wrapped up in Christmas that I'm lucky I got this done. So hopefully it counts for something! Cupcakes should be coming alone soon. Happy Holidays!

_Conscience_, part 10: Kidnapped!

I rolled over; unconsciously reaching for the icy brick I took such comfort in being close to. My hand came to rest on nothing but comfortable bed. As accommodating as the bed was, I would always rather have the block of marble. I reached around, trying to find it. My fingertips registered the fact that the bed sheets were room temperature. Cool to the touch from where I was burrowed under the sheets. Cool, but not cold.

I bolted upright, looking around. I was right; Edward was nowhere to be found. As quickly as possible, I rolled out of bed. Literally. I was so uncoordinated in the morning, someone should stamp a 'Warning: Hazard' sign on me. I hit the ground with a thump, my legs sprawled out on either side of me. I absolutely _swore_ I heard 'Bella's up,' from downstairs. Grumbling about stupid graceful vampires and their ability to be insomniacs, I pulled myself to my feet.

Hiking across the room, I pulled out my favorite pair of jeans and my red sweater. Again, Alice had been kind when she chose my clothing. No terrible sundresses or fancy high heels. I slipped out of my pajamas and stepped into the jeans, hiking them up. Next went the top, along with the necessary toiletries. I ran a brush through my hair, tugged some socks onto my bare feet and bounded out the door, looking for my boyfriend.

"I heard that, Emmett," I called from the top of the stairs. I heard his infectious laughter filter up the stairwell. I slowed my jog as I neared the stairwell and I took each step carefully. No reason to give Emmett another chance to laugh at me.

After miraculously making it to the bottom without slipping and falling on my face, I shuffled around, looking for Edward. Even though I'd heard Emmett – and he'd clearly heard me – no one was to be found in the large house. I peered into the foyer, the kitchen, and finally in the sitting room, I saw the tall blonde sitting in a chair, peering out the window.

I paused in the doorway, and as soon as I came to a halt, Tanya's eyes snapped around to regard me. At first, her face was stoic, tight, and perhaps cold. I felt my heart stutter slightly.

"I... I was wondering if you knew where Edward was," I asked, my voice barely above a shaken whisper, much to my chagrin. Her red lips – how were they red? Did she use lipstick? – peeled back into a smile. Her smile faltered quickly, and she looked sheepish. Perhaps she felt as though she'd shown too many teeth.

"Actually, love. I'm kidnapping you for the day," she said, her voice like a texture. It wasn't velvet like Edward's; it was coarser than velvet. It was distinctly something, however. I couldn't quite put my finger on it just yet.

Her grin widened a bit, perhaps maniacally, when my heart completely stopped.

"Kid…kidnapping me?" I tried to sound nonchalant. It didn't help that my voice squeaked the last word. Like a regal queen, Tanya rose from the chair and glided over to me, her sensual golden hair running down her back. She paused before me, placing both hands on her thighs as she leaned forward. Her nose was at my level now, and she smiled once more. This time, it was genially.

"Yes. Carlisle knows so much about you, and so much about us. But we hardly know anything about each other. Alice assured him it would be alright, and Edward begrudgingly agreed," she explained. Honey. That was it. Her voice was honey. Sweet, soft, but not like velvet. Stickier. Could voices be sticky? I'd never thought they could be textured until I met Edward. Perhaps they could be sticky, too. The mystery of her voice solved, that still left one rather large one looming in front of me: what in the _world_ was she talking about?

"A…agreed to what?"

"We're going out," a tart, sassy voice responded from behind me. Wheeling around, I saw the slenderer of the two leaning against Laurent. I just stared.

"Out?" Why did I feel like I was asking stupid questions? Irina's eyes narrowed.

"Surely she's not that dense if Edward picked her to be his mate," Irina commented as if it were the weather, her eyes now on Tanya. I felt my jaw drop as I stared at her, and quickly closed it, also turning to face Tanya. I was just in time to see Tanya throw a scalding look at Irina.

"Irina. What have you got against our dear, sweet little Bella, anyway?" Before I realized what was happening, Tanya's concrete arms were around me, pulling me into a hug. I don't know what Laurent saw in my face, but he suddenly started laughing. It was a chuckle at first, but his faint French accent became more prominent as his laughter became more defined. Both Irina and Tanya turned to stare at him. All he could do was point at me.

"Poor thing… …she looks… absolutely… terrified," was all Laurent was able to utter between chuckles. Startled, Tanya bent down onto my level, releasing me from the hug.

"Bella, you aren't terrified of us, are you?" I couldn't make my eyes un-widen for the life of me. Everything kept catching me off-guard. I shook my head.

"Just… confused," I said.

"About?" Tanya pressed.

"What's going on," I replied. Tanya's brow furrowed.

"What in particular?" Did they really not understand? Perhaps not.

"Everything. I woke up… Edward wasn't next to me like he usually is, so I come looking for him, I can't find anyone except for you three, and suddenly we're going out. And there was kidnapping involved. Do you think you could be _anymore_ vague?" I glared at her as a smile split across her features.

"Of course I could, Bella. Now let's go. The day is wasting." Without warning, Tanya's stone arm went around my waist. The next thing I knew, I was hoisted over her shoulder, like some kind of rag doll.

"Put me down! I'm completely capable of walking," I protested. I would kick and pound my fists – had I not known I would cause more damage to myself than to Tanya.

"Yes, yes of course you can, sweets, but can you _run_?" I felt the color drain from my face. Tanya's stone arms shifted as she changed my position around. She dropped me to the ground, moved her hands, and before I realized it, she'd hoisted me onto her back. "Hold on now, sweets." I don't think I could've clung any tighter.

I glanced over to Irina and Laurent over my shoulder. Irina looked irritated; Laurent looked amused. Right before Tanya broke into a run, I noticed Laurent pick up a knapsack-looking bag. Then everything blurred around me. I closed my eyes tightly, tucking my head down and tightening my grasp around Tanya. Tanya wasn't nearly as fluid as Edward. The ride was smooth, but I could feel her strides beneath her.

Then it occurred to me.

I really _was_ being kidnapped.

I had no idea where I was going.

I was with two vampires I hadn't known before a couple days ago, and one that I'd known a long time ago. One that was the only surviving member of a coven that had tried to eat me. No reason for alarm. Not at all. I gulped.

I don't know how long we ran or where we went, but my thoughts were interrupted by Tanya's honey-voice.

"You can open your eyes now, sweets. We've stopped." Carefully, I raised my head and peered around. We were in a clearing. Not _our_ clearing; that would forever be Edward's and my secret. Even Jacob Black never made it there even though we tried. It was in that clearing that I'd broken down and cried. Cried for an hour. Perhaps more. I don't remember much from that point. Eventually, I picked myself up and found my way back home. It had been a bad idea to go there when Edward was gone – especially when Victoria had been around. What if she'd found me in the clearing? I shuddered at the thought.

Numbly, I dropped down to the ground, landing upon shaky feet. Stumbling backwards, I felt a stone hand close around my arm and help me back to my feet. I glanced up, expecting Tanya.

"Careful, _chèrie_." I blushed as Laurent released my arm. I nodded stupidly before looking around my company. Irina was studying Laurent intently. Laurent was watching Tanya. Tanya was smoothing out a blanket on the grass. We really were alone.

Three pairs of golden eyes suddenly fixed on me when my heart stuttered. Blushing brightly, I ducked my head in embarrassment.

"Oh come on now, Bella," Tanya was at my side in a moment, wrapping her cold arms around me. I felt her fingers stroke my hair softly. Tenderly – as tenderly as a human bone crusher could – she released me and took my hand, leading me towards the blanket. Gracefully she folded herself onto it, tugging me down next to her.

I sort-of folded next to her with an ungraceful _oomf!_ Similarly, Laurent and Irina came and took a corner of the blanket with enough grace to make me resemble an ogre.

The three of them exchanged looks amongst themselves, searching for something to settle their eyes on. Laurent and Tanya both seemed content to study me, Irina, however, set her gaze off in the distance. I frowned. Why did she hate me? Or did she hate me? Was this another Rosalie-syndrome thing?

"Troubled, little one?" I glanced over to Tanya. She was studying my expression intently. She held the same look that Edward had so many times before when he'd been convinced that by staring he might be able to read my mind.

No dice.

"I'm just confused. What's all this about," I gestured to the blanket and the three of them before returning my eyes back to Tanya. A grin spread across her perfect features and she leaned back leisurely onto the blanket, studying me. Her flawless upper torso was propped up on her elbows behind her back.

"Well, you know it simply isn't fair that Edward keeps you all to himself." As if that made anymore sense. I just studied her.

"I didn't realize my presence was coveted," I said unsurely. My eyes flickered to Laurent and Irina; she was still looking away and he was eyeing me curiously. As usual. I looked back to Tanya. She was still grinning.

"Silly Bella," she said as she leaned forward toward me. It took ever ounce of restraint not to flinch away. Granted they were vegetarians. But so far every vampire I'd encountered outside the Cullen family thus far had tried to eat me. James. Check. Volturi. Check. Victoria. Check. And now Laurent was here, but claiming to be friendly. It was only natural for me to flinch away. Wasn't it? "We want to learn about you," Tanya said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I gulped nervously. I had a feeling this was going to be a rather long outing. I was missing Edward already.


	10. Picnic

Yay. New part, fairly recently compared to my other ones. More Laurent! I wrote two whole chapters without Edward. I guess the bubble bath makes up for all this. There'll need to some snogging later, I think. Hmm. I don't want to sound like I'm begging, but if you read, please review. Not just because I like them (we all do) but I also like to know what you do and don't like. I write for you just as much as me. And if there's something I'm doing that you really like or don't like at all, I want to know about it for future chapters and stories. (And I get disheartened when there's not a whole lot of response; like maybe I should write something else and forget this.) Thanks much!

_Conscience_, Part Ten: Picnic

Tanya was studying me carefully, watching my facial reactions.

"But… _why_?" I asked.

"What do you mean, 'why'?"

"Why would someone as profoundly interesting and inhuman as you want to spend time with something as boring as me?" Tanya just stared at me like I had four eyes.

"Bella, don't you understand?" She moved closer, her eyes locked on mine. I felt her cold hands grasp mine. "We all wanted Edward. He pushed us all away, time after time, and for the longest time we thought he would never have anyone. Irina actually thought he was gay, but then you come along… a seemingly normal, otherwise unremarkable human and you've brought Edward Cullen to his knees." Her hand reached up to brush stray strands of hair out of my eyes as I just stared at her stupidly. Her hands gave mine a little squeeze again as her hands went back to mine. "Not only that, but you're the one person who is immune to his power. The one mind he cannot touch. I, personally, find that absolutely _fascinating._"

I glanced to the other two. Irina looked as though the word fascinating didn't quite describe it. Boredom, irritation, perhaps. Laurent looked smug.

"Don't forget the Volturi. Didn't you say some of the Volturi's power didn't affect you, as well?" His French voice filled the air. Tanya's eyes widened and my cheeks blushed.

"_You_ met the _Volturi_??" She just stared. Irina, now, was watching me. She looked as though she tried to look uninterested all the same. I smiled sheepishly and nodded.

"Actually, I went to them to save Edward," I clarified. Now Irina was making no pretense of gaping at me.

"You can't just say that and not explain what you mean," Irina bit out, looking irritated. I blushed.

"Well, what I meant was, it's a really long story, but Edward thought I was dead, and went to the Volturi to ask them to kill him. I went after Edward trying to stop him, that's all really," I explained to Irina, glancing to Tanya from time to time. Irina frowned.

"Why would he care that much about you?" I winced.  
"Honestly, I don't know," I murmured. Tanya slid over beside me and gave me a gentle hug.

"He loves you, silly. Here. Your blood sugar is low," Tanya said as she dropped the knapsack in my lap. Curiously, I opened it. Inside was a can of soda and a sandwich. I looked up at her, and then to Laurent. Tanya nodded in his direction.

"When we decided to kidnap you for the day, Laurent had the idea to bring you food." I was shocked. Laurent was looking out for my best interest? I smiled shyly, and rummaged around before pulling out the sandwich.

"Thank you," I murmured before unwrapping the plastic. I took a bite of the sandwich a bit self-consciously. I wanted to ask if they were going to eat as per etiquette, but it didn't quite apply in my situation. I took another bite, and then popped open the soda can. Irina and Tanya were staring at each other meaningfully. Did one of them read minds? I realized I didn't know. I took another bite of sandwich and looked down thoughtfully.

"You really are interesting, you know," Tanya said. I looked up at her. I still wasn't sure how I felt about them. Laurent I trusted, but I didn't know if that was because he induced it somehow, or if it was innate.

"I can see why Edward would pick you, actually," Irina surprised me by speaking. "You're both enigmatic as hell." She sighed and leaned against Laurent. I glanced to Tanya. She was smiling mischievously. Scooting closer, she whispered in my ear.

"Coming from Irina, that's a compliment." She grinned and then leaned back.

I just looked between the three, somewhat strange vampires around me. I felt rather self conscious with their studying gazes. What was I? A science experiment? Perhaps.

"So what happened with the Volturi?" Irina asked. Casually, she slid down across the picnic mat until her head rested in Laurent's lap. She stared at me intently, a coy smirk playing at her lips.

"I… er… maybe you should ask Edward…" Irina frowned and sat up, leaning in a little bit closer.

"What's wrong? Too personal? You and Edward have hot makeup sex or something? Too embarrassed to talk about it?" I just stared at her. Irina was ridiculous. How could she go from being so seemingly nice one moment to being so nasty the next? Why did she hate me so much? Before I could respond, Tanya came to my defense.

"Irina, what the hell are you onto Bella about? She's done nothing wrong except for – somewhat unwillingly – graciously obliged to join us today," Tanya said, defending me. Laurent had sat up and was looking between the two. He appeared about as confused as I was.

Irina shrugged and just gave both Tanya and I a rather dirty look before leaning back into Laurent. Tanya just glared at Irina further.

"Can I speak with you a moment?" Tanya rose gracefully from beside me and started walking toward the trees, pausing only to look over her shoulder. With a dramatic roll of the eyes, Irina stood up and grudgingly left Laurent to join her.

As she walked past me, I heard her murmur something to Tanya. What it was, I couldn't make out. I glanced down to my half-eaten sandwich. They disappeared into the trees, leaving Laurent and I alone.

He didn't feel the need to say anything. We sat quietly in comfortable silence while I nibbled on my sandwich. The comfort of the silence wore thin, however, the longer we sat there. Eventually, I felt the pressing need to say something, and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Thanks," I said awkwardly. He continued to watch me thoughtfully for a few seconds before answering.

"For?"

"Thinking of my… needs." I nodded down to the sandwich in response.

"Ah. I see," he said softly. I kept my head down, looking at the sandwich as I nibbled on it. We remained quiet for a while. When I wasn't looking at him, I didn't feel the urge to spill my guts.

Feeling a little more confident, I glanced up to him, and I lost the restraint to keep secrets from him.

"You know, I'm just not sure what to think about everything," I started. Laurent moved a little closer, carefully watching my expression. I just stared into his eyes, unable to tear my eyes away. With Edward, it was dazzling. With Laurent… it was something else entirely. His dark-gold gaze penetrated deep inside my own, as if _he_ were somehow able to read my mind. I swallowed nervously. I wanted to look over my shoulder to where Tanya and Irina were, I really did. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from his.

"What is it, Bella? Why is your heart racing?"

"I… I don't know," I breathed out, barely able to intake oxygen. Laurent moved physically closer, but he changed his position so that he was leaning away. I blinked once, and something sunk in. "Oh…"

Again, Laurent tilted his head.

"Yes?"

"Are you…" I began. I trailed off, trying to figure out the easiest way to ask a vampire that used to eat humans if he were hungry. Laurent just frowned slightly in confusion.

"Am I what?"

I nibbled on my bottom lip. I still hadn't taken my gaze away from his eyes. Unable to come up with a tactful way to phrase my question, I just waved lightly in the general direction of his eyes.

"Your eyes… are dark now. Shouldn't you…?" _Go hunting?_ I wanted to ask. I just didn't want the answer to be something like 'I am.' Laurent blinked in confusion before looking genuinely amused. He chuckled softly, an unusual sound coupled with his light French accent.

"My dear child, you think I'm going to eat you right now?" He was laughing softly, but it stopped when I paled. He shot me a perplexed look. "Of course I'm not. I'll admit that your scent is more appealing than usual, floral, I believe. I might even to go so far as to say it's quite mouthwatering – oh for God's sake don't stop breathing, I'm in perfect control right now," he said, shaking his head, laughing softly. It was true, my heart had nearly stopped. He flashed a smile – it was a careful smile. Just enough to convey sincere geniality without flashing too many teeth. I smiled weakly back.

"Sorry, it's just that-"

"I used to be a non-vegetarian?"

"Well, yes-"

"And my two coven mates James and Victoria each tried to eat you?" I just blushed brightly and was finally able to avert my gaze. He chuckled softly. "Bella, you worry too much. Do you think I don't understand your situation involving me?" I frowned a bit, unsure how to respond to that. Was he trying to get me to trust him? It was working. It wasn't like he couldn't kill me in a half second right now. He continued. "And do you honestly think your Edward would let us kidnap you for the afternoon if there were any sign of remote danger?" I faltered. He was right about that. My heart rate started to return to normal at the notion that Edward knew about this little picnic.

"No. I don't believe he would," I said. Laurent nodded.

"Neither do I," he said. He smiled carefully again, still staying close. I just watched him, carefully, only a foot between my neck and his razor teeth. "What is it…" he murmured softly.

"Sorry?" What was he talking about? He leaned forward a little more, much to my surprise. On instinct, I leaned back a little more, but he moved with me, staying a few inches from my face.

"What is it about you? You smell nice, but it's more than that… what is it… why does a family of… somewhat unconventional vampires… keep you as one of their own…?" His eyes were locked on mine. My heart was fluttering. "How did you… come to be Edward's…?" He was moving closer still, and I was unable to move nor take my eyes from his. Like I was paralyzed. My heart was hammering furiously.

"Lovely! How are you and Laurent getting along," Tanya's voice rolled across the grass. I could've sworn I heard a groan from Laurent as he leaned back slowly, his eyes leaving mine once to glance to my lips. I had this distinct gut feeling, as crazy as it sounded, that if Tanya and Irina hadn't returned from their meeting, he would've… kissed me. The thought made my stomach twist in terror. I'd just finally gotten past the Jacob-kissing thing. I didn't want to do that to Edward again. And not with an ex-enemy.

Tanya folded up delicately next to me, Irina stepping across and sitting down pointedly in Laurent's lap, glaring daggers at me.

"Are we having fun yet?" Tanya asked, smiling sweetly. I think I looked pale because she patted my head. I just nodded uncertainly. Her eyes dropped to my nearly-eaten sandwich in my lap and my eyes followed hers.

"About finished? We should be getting you home before Edward complains. He'll want to make sure we didn't snack on you like we promised not to." She winked and stood up, offering her arms. I put everything back inside the bag and Tanya took it before hoisting me up onto her back.

I looked over my shoulder; Irina and Laurent were still curled on the blanket.

"No worries, sweets. They'll probably stay here for a while. We best get your sweet innocent mind back to your chivalrous Edward. Holding on? Good."

And we were off. I closed my eyes, my heart hammering. _Every step she takes is one step back to Edward,_ I reminded myself. I couldn't help but smile.


	11. Arrangements

Another chapter! Thank you, bloodsuckingleech! I love you dear beta! Here we go. I promise, there will be more Laurent in the next chapter. Swear it.

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Conscience_, Part 11: ArrangementsEdward had been waiting for me on the patio when Tanya carried me back. She dropped me gently, but before my toes touched the ground, his arms had wrapped tightly around me, pulling me into a hug against his chest. I sighed softly and curled tighter against him, wrapping my own arms around him tightly. 

"I missed you," I whispered. He exhaled against me, causing my hair to flutter in his sweet breath.

"I missed you, too," he murmured softly.

"He wouldn't stop pacing the house until now." I peeked over Edward's shoulder to see who was on the patio, though I knew her voice before I saw her. Alice was leaning casually against the railing, smiling at us sweetly. I smiled at Alice, and her grin only widened. I felt a pit form in my stomach. I looked to Edward suspiciously.

"What's she doing? What's going on?" I asked. I knew Alice well enough to know that the look she'd given me meant something. I just didn't know what, and I knew that Edward did.

Edward wasn't looking to me, however. He was staring at Alice, a blank expression on his face. That meant he was reading her mind. Stupid vampires. After what seemed like minutes – but was probably seconds – Edward sighed.

"I just got her back from the girls, though. Must you?" He asked Alice. Alice shrugged.

"It's your wedding. And it's tomorrow," she said. My heart stopped. Both vampires turned to look at me. Edward's face was incredulous, Alice was smirking.

"Bella was so wrapped up in the experience of living with you and the excitement of what was going on that she lost track of time, didn't you?" Alice asked me. I swallowed heavily, and then nodded.

"Welcome to our life," she laughed softly before shifting her nearly negligible weight from one foot to the other. Edward was chuckling softly, wrapping his arms around my frame. He kissed the top of my head before releasing me completely, nudging me toward Alice.

I didn't want to go with her, I wanted to go with Edward. I reached for him, but Alice intercepted me. She took my hands and led me up the stairs and into the Cullen house. I glanced over my shoulder to see Edward staring after me fondly.

"This really is his absolute dream, you know," Alice said, her words startling me from my thoughts as Edward disappeared from my sight. She was leading me up the stairs to her bedroom. I had a bad feeling about this. "Getting married. To the woman he loves more than life itself." I blushed softly at her words as she tugged me through the doorway, pulling the door closed.

There, on a mannequin, was a lovely white gown fit for a maiden of Edward's time, not mine. High collared, laced, floor length, long sleeved, and absolutely, unerringly gorgeous. I felt my jaw drop. It seemed like in the time since Alice had first showed it to me it had become even more beautiful, as if that were possible.

Alice's hands moved quickly, too fast for me to follow. Before I realized it, the dress was laying across a chair delicately. Alice turned to face me.

"Take off your shirt," she instructed.

"Whoa, whoa… what are we-" I started.

"We need to make sure it fits," she said. I blinked, and nodded and took off my shirt, then unbuttoned my jeans. Stepping out of them, I walked over to the dress.

"Wait, you need this first," Alice said, holding something out. I turned to face her and studied the piece of fabric she was extending toward me.

"What is it?" I asked. Alice glanced down to it and held it out with two hands. I stared at it. It looked familiar, but unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Alice looked down to the garment in her hands, and then back to me.

"Bella, it's a corset."

* * *

Other than being unable to breathe, I was surprised that to find it was comfortable. The corset smoothed out my front, and pushed my breasts up higher, but it made little difference. There was no neckline with the dress. The high collar was just short enough not to brush underneath my chin.

Alice buttoned up the back, bringing it together tightly. I looked in the mirror as she untangled my hair from the collar, letting it fall down my back. The dress was white silk, and intricate bead patterns and lace carpeted the bodice in an elegant fashion. The high collar was touched with a bit of lace. The long sleeves sported a bit of lace around the edge. The gown was snug around my upper body, practically glued to my sides and hips. Once it passed the widest part of my hips, it fell to the floor in delicate waves. I took a step forward; the gown swished around me elegantly. It was almost like being dressed in water, it was so fluid.

"Alice, it's lovely. But I already knew that. Don't you think it's a little long, though?" The hem of the gown rested about an inch and a half on the ground. I had the distinct impression the gown was made for someone about an inch and a half taller, so the hem just brushed across the ground as the person walked.

Alice was silent. Curiously, I turned to look at her. Her golden eyes were resting on the hem of my gown. Slowly, they trailed up the entire structure, taking in all the layers of silk and satin, lace and beads. The bracelet – the one that never left my wrist – looked oddly in place as it peeked out from underneath one of the laced sleeves.

Alice was nodding methodically as she looked me over.

"It's perfect." She nodded again, looking triumphant.

"But Alice," I protested. "It just seems like this dress should be an inch and a half shorter… Don't you think?"

"That, or, you should be an inch and a half taller," she said slyly.

"I can't grow spontaneously, Alice." What was she getting on about?

"Of course you can't," she said. I finally tore my gaze away from my reflection in the mirror to look at her.

My heart stopped.

Around her pinky finger, Alice was twirling a pair of strappy heels. About an inch and a half in height. I swallowed nervously.

"Now… wait just a minute. You know I can't possibly-"

"Actually you'll do just fine in them. I already saw it," she said, before tossing them to me. "But you don't need to put them on just yet. They fit. I know that already. I also knew the dress would fit, but I wanted you to see yourself in it. Breathing any easier?"

"I'm getting used to the corset, yes," I said. Alice grinned.

"That means it's time to take it off." Alice was behind me, popping the buttons down the back. With a _whisk_, the dress was off my head, and I was, once more, standing in my undergarments and a corset in the middle of the bedroom. The dress was placed back on the mannequin, and then Alice was behind me again. In an instant, air rushed back into my lungs. Sweet oxygen.

She smirked at me as I took slow deep breaths. Alice was grinning.

"So… is there anything else I need to do for this? What do I need to do tomorrow?" I was starting to get nervous. Since Alice was planning the whole wedding, I didn't really know what was going to happen.

"Well, there's nothing more you need to worry about today. Tomorrow, I'm going to be over at Charlie's-"

"I'm staying at Charlie's tonight?" I interrupted her. Alice continued on as if I had said nothing at all.

"-at nine o'clock. You will be awake and dressed by then. I'm going to do your hair and then get you into your dress. Charlie-" she paused, and stared off into the distance before continuing. "-will be ready by ten o'clock. Fabulous. After you're in your dress, we'll go to where the wedding will be. You'll wait behind a rose trellis, and then come out when it starts. Edward will be waiting for you," Alice said. Her eyes had a very distant look to them – she was seeing the wedding as it unfolded already.

"You'll recite after the minister, and kiss and everything is going to be fine. Oh-" she paused, and blinked, staring off into space. Her face then went back to its normal position, and she smiled.

"Yes, everything will be fine," she said convincingly.

"Alice, what did you see? What-"

"Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it."

"So I'm spending the night at Charlie's?" I asked, trying something else. When Alice made up her mind, well, it was so much easier to convince Edward to tell me. Maybe he saw it in her mind.

"No, you'll be sleeping here, like before," she said, looking confused.

"But nine is early. I'm going to be up by then and over at Charlie's?" I asked. That seemed cruel to Charlie. On a Saturday, nonetheless. Alice stared at me for a moment as if I were missing something. Then her eyes widened in some understanding.

"Bella, you think… I mean in the morning?" I stared at her.

"You mean you don't?" I asked. Alice giggled, her bell-like laugh tinkering throughout the room.

"Of course not. Tomorrow it's going to be sunny. You're going to have a midnight wedding!"


	12. Nightmare

Hooray! Look! I'm alive! I've been moving everything to Ramblings and Thoughts so I haven't been writing a whole lot. I initially wrote Butterfly Kisses to be my entrance piece for Ramblings and Thoughts, but my LOVELY Beta Bloodsucking Leech convinced me to send in Full Circle instead; and she was right! I got accepted, and I was afraid that since I finally achieved my goal that I wouldn't want to write anymore. I'm still afraid, but I won't leave Cupcakes and Conscience open. I'll finish those… I hope that's not all. But it might be. It depends on my inspiration. Anyway, enough of that, here's Conscience: Part Twelve. Thank you BloodSucking Leech! I love you! (Go read her stuff!) 

Part Twelve: Nightmare

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* * *

_

_It was the middle of the night. I was dressed in my wedding down, the delicate embroidery laced around my torso. The corset made it difficult to breathe, but I kept moving. I was running, and my lungs were straining to take in enough oxygen. I had lost the heels Alice had given me and I ran with my dress gathered up in one hand. I'd already tripped and fallen twice, leaving tears, dirt and grass stains in the gorgeous, ancient garment._

_It was a new moon tonight and only the stars lit my path as I barreled through the forest. My wedding had been perfect. Edward was there and we were married. But now it was all going to fall apart. Tanya, Irina and Laurent had been in the crowd of guests, as well as Renee, Phil, Charlie and various other family friends. I had walked down the aisle, tripped only once but caught myself. Charlie had steadied me as he handed me off to Edward._

_They had paused, exchanged a long, solemn look. Charlie regarded Edward quietly, his eyes telling Edward that if he ever left me again there would be Hell to pay. Edward's own gaze reflected that he would swear on whatever Charlie deemed worthy that he wouldn't. I could only smile._

_  
We exchanged our vows, rings, and then he had kissed me. It had been the most wonderful moment of my life, and I hadn't even wanted to get married at first._

_And now it had all disappeared. I was going to die before Edward could change me. I was so close to finally reconciling everything, and now I was going to lose it all. After everything Edward and I went through, I was going to fail._

"_Edward!" I tried to scream. No sound came out; it was like there was sand in my throat. He was following me. I tripped again and collapsed against a tree, panting. The sand in my throat was scratchy as I took deep gasps for air, my lungs straining against the corset._

_An unearthly chuckle fluttered across the meadow. I knew that laugh. I'd known it for years. I'd just never thought I'd hear it again. Whimpering, I slid down the tree._

_I'd seen it. Edward was gone. We had been walking off together to talk about certain situations. Out of nowhere, he had come. Edward had stayed behind to fight, urging me to run. And now he was upon me, and Edward was nowhere to be seen. _Please, please let him be okay, even if I'm not,_ I prayed to whatever would listen to me._

_I turned to face the edge of the clearing, and slowly he sauntered from the bushes. He was grinning, his eyes a bright, bright red._

"_Your turn," he growled. With a swift movement, he tossed something into the middle of the grassy place between us._

_It was a hand. With a ring on the finger. Edward's hand._

_Before I could even scream, James leapt for me._

"Bella! Bella! _Bella!_" Edward's voice was clear and frantic next to me. His hands were on my face, brushing away the tears. I could feel him. But I couldn't see him. My eyes still weren't working.

I couldn't force myself to stop screaming. It had been so real, so terrifying. I hadn't been afraid of dying, I was afraid of Edward's destruction.

My moment of calm came when I felt Edward's cold lips against mine. Then, I knew he was still alive and well, and I had only been dreaming. Instantly, my scream faded away. Instinctively, I threw my arms around him and crawled into his embrace, sobbing.He broke the kiss and just held me, brushing his fingertips over my hair.

I felt so safe, so comfortable in his arms. Finally, I looked up at him just to reassure myself that he was, in fact, very much there.

He was. His golden gaze was staring down at me with terror.

"Bella? Are you… are you alright?" He whispered, brushing my temple with his thumb again. I nodded and tried to answer but my throat was tight. I nodded again and buried my face against his chest.

He exhaled slowly, with relief. His body was still tense as he held me, but he seemed to be a little more relaxed.

We sat like that; together, for several minutes. Maybe even a half hour. Finally, he tilted my head back so I could look up into his eyes.

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?" He asked calmly, though his eyes were still alive with worry.

"I dreamed that I lost you," I said softly.

"I told you, I'm never going anywhere as long as you want me here, I-"

"No, I dreamt that James killed you."

Edward paused, looking perplexed.

"Bella, James is dead. Emmett and Jasper took care of that while Carlisle and I-"

"Yes, I know. But I dreamed that he showed up at the wedding, and… and… he got you…" I felt tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. Edward's cool fingers brushed them away. He leaned in and kissed each of my eyelids.

"Shh, shh, I'm alright, Bella. James is dead; he's never going to hurt you – or me – ever again. I promise," he murmured softly.

I snuggled into his cool body. I felt better already. The nightmare was fading away the longer he held me.

"Are you better?" He whispered. I nodded. Edward chuckled softly. "Good. Alice wants to steal you for the rest of the day. I'll see you later tonight, okay? I'm not going anywhere, and no one is going to hurt me. I won't let them. Not when I have the rest of my eternity with you," he murmured softly against my temple.

The idea of eternity with Edward was uplifting and invigorating. I didn't even remember who had been trying to hurt us in the dream now. He kissed my lips lightly before releasing me completely.

He stood up off the bed but paused, watching me.

"You _are_ alright now, right?" He verified.

"Yes," I said. I grinned at him. He nodded and turned to walk out of the room. "I love you!" I called after him as he walked out.

"And I love you more," he said before slipping down the stairs.

I sighed slowly, letting everything sink in.

I was getting married tonight.

I rolled out of Edward's bed and bounced over to my clothing. I brushed out my hair and moved to the door. Alice needed to see me. Where was she? I walked down the hall and down the stairs, peering around the large Cullen house.

I found them; most of them, anyway; sitting in the living area. Alice, Tanya, Irina, Laurent, Jasper and Esme were all curled around a central table. All six heads snapped up to look at me was I walked into the room. Five of the six smiled in my direction; Irina just looked back to the table.

"Bella! You're awake! Come join us!" Alice called, waving me over. Slowly, I approached. At one point, I could see over Alice's shoulder and see what they were looking at.

"Scrabble!" I exclaimed. Only, it was like no Scrabble I had ever seen. They had put four boards together, had a pile of probably four sets of tiles, and they were stacking the words up and down, left and right, and vertically, too.

Three-dimensional Scrabble. Leave it to the vampires to find a way to make it insanely difficult. Words were crisscrossed all across the board, and words rose up off the board too. The letter tiles were actually cubes so that one could see what the buried letters were.

I just stared at the board. It was like Scrabble on steroids.

"Want to play?" Laurent's voice was unmistakable with its light French accent. I tore my gaze away from the terrifying board to regard him.

"Absolutely not. But I'll watch," I conceded at Alice's pleading look. I hesitantly took the seat between Alice and Tanya. Alice looked thrilled.

The game continued on for a while. Slowly, though, the players excused themselves for various reasons. Esme was going to meet Carlisle at the hospital, and he was going to go hunting with her before the wedding. Alice had to go meet the people bringing the flowers, and Jasper naturally went with her.

That left me sitting and watching Laurent, Irina and Tanya play a psychotic game of Scrabble.

"Ambidextrous," Irina said smoothly. Ambidextrous had more than seven letters. I peeked over Tanya's shoulder, and sure enough, she had more than seven cubes in front of her. She had fifteen.

Laurent nodded, looking thoughtful as Irina drew more cubes.

"Perihelion," Laurent murmured, dropping cubes in a vertical manner, up from the board. Tanya glanced to me for a moment.

"We're being terribly rude. We can play the other game if you want to play, too." She said. I just stared at her for a moment. Something cracked slightly in my heart.

"No, no thank you..." I said slowly. Tanya wasn't buying it.

"What is it?" She persisted.

"Nothing, really." I tried to smile at her.

"Bella," Laurent said. He stood up from where he had been sitting next to Irina and came to sit on the other side of me. I unwillingly turned my gaze away from Tanya to look at Laurent. He just stared into my eyes for a moment. I didn't really _want_ to tell them what I was thinking, but I felt as though I needed to.

"Yes? I – nothing, there isn't anything,"

"Is that true?" He persisted. As I stared into his eyes, I couldn't help but feel the impulse to just tell him. Laurent would understand, right? He understood me. Not as much as Edward did, but sometimes I believed it to be close. He would listen to me. He would understand. I could trust him. Couldn't I?

"I don't want to play your game. I can't play the hard version," I muttered.

Tanya seemed confused. "But we could start a new one – with the normal version."

For some reason, I grew agitated; even angry.

"I don't want to play the dumbed down game. Don't you worry, I'll play your version sooner or later," I declared with conviction that surprised me. "I'll be able to do everything you do and do it well." I glared at Laurent, suddenly irritated that he had convinced me to say that. "Thanks for the offer, though," I added as I stood up. "But I have to go get ready. I'm sure there's something I should be doing right now."

I left the room as gracefully as possible, tripping only twice on the way. I heard no movement behind me, so I assumed they had returned to their Scrabble game. I rounded the corner and discovered this wasn't true.

Irina was standing there, glaring.

"Whoa, sorry Irina, I didn't mean to-"

"To what? Be where you don't belong? You aren't one of us and yet you act like it!"

"What are you talking about? I know I'm not yet," I explained, my heart hammering. Her eyes were nearly black and I couldn't figure out why she was so angry with me.

"You go where you don't belong!" Her voice was soft and low, but it was laced with massive amounts of anger. I just stared at her blankly, unable to come up with anything else to say. "Why don't you run back to your Edward and stay there? And stay away from Laurent!"

"Irina!" Tanya's voice echoed down the hallway. She was at my side in an instant, glaring at Irina.

"You know that's not how that works, now leave her alone and give her some space to breathe," Tanya lashed at Irina. Irina just glared back, her lips pressed together tightly. In one fluid motion, she turned and gracefully bobbed down the hallway away from us. Tanya put her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry about that. That shouldn't have happened. Irina is very protective of what she considers hers, and she and Laurent are... close. His innocent curiosity in you makes her jealous. I'm sorry." She smiled apologetically. "She's harmless though. She respects Carlisle enough to know not to do anything stupid."

I just nodded dumbly, and glanced around.

"I'm going to go speak with her, now. Are you alright?" She asked. I nodded again, and watched as she walked after Irina. I stayed standing in the hallway staring after them.

"Sorry," an accented voice murmured behind me. I turned and looked over my shoulder. Laurent looked apologetic and just shook his head. "I never meant for that to happen."

"I know," I said softly. "But I should... probably go see Charlie now." He nodded faintly, watching me. I turned and headed out into the garage. There, perched on top of the bright yellow Porsche was Alice.

"Ready?" She chirped. "I'll take you home. We'll finish up everything with Charlie and then get ready. Okay?"

"Sure," I said, walking to the passenger side of the car. Alice was in the driver's seat before I had my seatbelt on. The car was cranked and within a few seconds we were speeding to Charlie's. I was going to get married in a few short hours. The idea was numbing. And yet, I was elated. I'd be _Edward's_. At last. For forever. I grinned slightly at the thought.

Maybe marriage won't be so bad, after all. Not if it made me Mrs. Cullen.


	13. Midnight Vows

**Hooray! I wrote some more! Yay yay! I keep saying I'm almost done with this, and then something else happens in my head and stretches it out for another chapter or two. It shouldn't be too much longer, but I can't say for certain. Anyway, HUGE thank you to my wonderful Beta Bloodsucking Leech. I wish there was something I could do to repay her. She's amazing.**

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_**Conscience**_**, Part 13 : Midnight Vows**

I glanced nervously at the clock. Eight P.M. Two hours ago, Edward had dropped by Charlie's, kissed me goodbye and left. I had been with Alice ever since. We spent the first hour running through what would happen when it would happen, and what I should expect. We spent the next half hour talking Charlie through everything. In an hour, Renee would come join us. She had flown in, but decided it was best to stay in the one hotel rather than with Charlie.

I sat in the bathroom, Alice was working my hair. She'd been very meticulous. It looked lovely. As much as I hated sitting still, my hair was lovely.

I had already been tucked in the lovely gown, the high collar just barely brushing underneath my chin. I smiled softly. I wasn't going to be Bella Swan, any longer. Soon, I would be Bella _Cullen._ My lips twitched slightly at the thought. It wasn't all _that_ long ago that the idea of getting married had terrified me, even to Edward.

And here I was. In my wedding gown. With my wedding ring. With Alice doing my wedding hair. On my wedding night. It was an extremely surreal feeling, and it was lacking in all the remorse and fear that I had initially anticipating feeling. I felt… relieved. Free, even. I was going to marry Edward.

My vision went out of focus as I closed my eyes and started thinking about the prospect, only vaguely aware of Alice working in the background.

Edward and I laying on the sofa, on the floor, even in the bed, but never sleeping. We could run races, and I might stand a chance at winning. Would I be a clumsy vampire? Or would the change make that go away? How embarrassing would it be to still be hazardous even after being changed. I could play thunderball with the family instead of sitting in the grass, watching. My lips quirked into a faint smile. I could even-

"Ow!"

"Sorry," Alice murmured apologetically. She tugged again on the curl a little more gently. My hair _did_ look lovely, despite the inherent torture of sitting still for it. Most of my hair was pinned up in an intricate, tight little bun. The veil was tucked tightly into the hair on the top of my head, little white flowers pinned in around the curls. Only a couple coiled strands hung around my face.

"Almost done," Alice murmured, brushing on some milky white powder onto my face. "There." Alice stepped back and studied me for a moment. Then she took my hands and helped me to my feet, leading me to where the mirror was so I could look at my reflection. I nodded faintly, and then turned to face Alice.

"Why are we here? At my place, instead of yours?" I didn't quite understand why Alice had brought a large duffle bag's worth of hair, body, dress accessories and makeup when we could have just stayed at her place.

"Because Charlie needs to see you right now. To him, it's the last time you will be his. Later this evening, he will hand you to Edward. More importantly, there will come a time when you won't be able to visit him for a year," she explained, her voice dropping low in the last half of the explanation.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," I murmured softly. Alice said nothing as she moved around me. Her quick, cool fingers finished with my hair. She paused a moment and stared off into space. I held my breath waiting for her to come out of her trance. It took a few seconds, and she blinked, then smiled. Without explanation, she reached into the bag and pulled out what appeared to be a necklace.

It was unlike any necklace I had seen before; it was a spiderweb of rhinestones – or perhaps, knowing Alice, real diamonds – all locked together with very thin strands. The strands seemed to be made of white gold. The necklace was large though the many stones were small. When she set it around my neck over the gown and fastened it behind the collar, it rested across my shoulders and nearly ran down to my breasts.

It looked like it could be a set of frills that the old monarchs used to wear. When Alice had been holding it, I had been doubtful how the tacky necklace would look on me. However, the diamonds and white gold blended into the white fabric and lace perfectly, as if they had been sewn into it directly. I frowned in confusion; it was difficult to even see them.

"You'll see," Alice murmured. It seemed so unlike Alice to put something extravagant on that no one could see. I nodded, and watched as she slid a small headband of diamond studs into my hair around where the veil connected with my hair.

My makeup was done; my face was pale, almost as white as my dress. My lips had light color to them, and there were soft brushes of violet eye shadow over my lids. I smiled softly and glanced down to the ring on my finger.

"Ready?"

I glanced up to look at Alice, my heart hammering in my chest. All I could do was nod. Carefully, she helped me to my feet and together we walked downstairs.

In the living room, Charlie was pacing nervously. He froze and turned to look up at me as I paused halfway down the stairs. We stared for a moment as his expression became unreadable. I could see fear of what was going to happen, I could also see pride and admiration.

"You look so lovely, Bells," he choked out after a moment, tears springing to the corner of his eyes. I ducked my head, blushing beneath the dusting of pale powder.

"Yeah, well, that's Alice's fault." I smiled as I came to his side. Charlie was dressed in an old suit; his weight showed. He was unable to button it closed, but everything else was in pristine condition. A cold chill ran down my spine as I realized I recognized the suit: it was from Charlie and Renee's wedding photograph.

"Shall we?" Alice murmured, urging us to the door. Charlie nodded and uncharacteristically escorted me to the door. There, in the driveway, was the Aston Martin. My heart accelerated with excitement.

"Don't get your hopes up, Bella. It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. Edward just let me borrow the car," Alice cautioned. I tried not to pout. Charlie let out a low whistle at the sight of it.

Alice slipped around and opened up the back doors for us, and Charlie and I climbed inside delicately. Alice slid into the driver's seat and started the car. Smoothly, Alice started driving.

It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea where my wedding was being held. It was dark enough outside that Charlie paid no attention to the shadows of trees flying by. Gradually we slowed, and Alice turned off the Aston Martin.

We stepped out of the car and I looked around. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but trees all around. There was a clearing – but not _our_ clearing; that was for Edward and I alone. The center was flooded with beautiful moonlight, and right in the middle stood Carlisle behind a pulpit. Around him, folding chairs had been arranged, and various people occupied them. From my place in the shade of the trees, I could only see a few of them.

Renee sat in the front, and empty chair next to her presumably for Charlie later. I could also make out the super pale skin of Laurent, Tanya and Irina. In the full moon, they didn't completely sparkle, but they seemed to have a faint glow to their pale skin. It wasn't striking enough for the humans to notice, thank goodness.

A path had been cut through the tall grass and flowers, leading up to the pulpit from where we were standing. Near his father, Edward was nervously rocking back and forth on his feet. He didn't turn to look at me, but there was a smile twitching up at his lips. He looked _glorious_. The moonlight was glowing off of his skin in the same faint way as all the other vampires, and he looked positively dashing in his suit, tailored to his body perfectly.

Alice set me up alongside Charlie and then danced up to take her place as my maid of honor next to Edward's best men – he couldn't choose between Jasper and Emmett. I caught a glimpse of Rosalie's blonde hair in the audience of people, presumably next to Esme. Charlie gave my arm a squeeze, directly my attention to the pulpit again; Edward had turned around to face me, along with everyone sitting in the chairs.

We were going to begin.

I swallowed nervously, my heart racing.

I was getting _married_.

The music started, soft, filling the meadow. It started off with the traditional bridal music, and I felt Charlie move beside me. Everything afterward was a blur. My feet moved of their own accord. I couldn't really focus on anything. I knew there were many people in the audience that I knew, but I couldn't focus on their faces.

I did hear Edward gasp softly as I stepped out into the moonlight, startling me from my strange trance. I paused and looked down to see what Edward was staring at.

It was the necklace Alice had given me. The enormous, but slender, multi-diamond necklace was catching the moonlight and tossing it all around. I sparkled like a vampire. Biting back a smile, I started forward again as the music faded. Another song took its place, and tears sprang to my eyes as I realized it was my lullaby. Edward smiled as I came up along side him, Charlie holding me. A bit reluctantly, Charlie handed me off to Edward, pausing right before he finished.

"I love you, Bells," he said in a choked whisper. "You look really pretty tonight." He gave my arm a squeeze and then handed me to Edward. Charlie stared meaningfully at Edward for a moment,

"Don't you ever think about leaving-"

"You have my word, sir. This girl is my life, my soul, and I would die for her. I nearly did without her. Believe me, I'm only a fool once," Edward replied, a pained look entering his eyes. I squeezed his hands and he snapped his head down to mine. His use of the word 'soul' did not escape my notice. He stared into my eyes for a moment before answering Charlie again. "I love her with every fiber of my being. I promise," he turned and focused his gold eyes on Charlie. The two men exchanged a long look for a moment. Charlie glanced to me.

"Well, it's what she wants, more than anything. So I guess you'll do," he muttered, walking toward the empty seat next to Renee. I just grinned up at Edward who flashed a blinding smile back at me.

I could hardly follow Carlisle's words as he read through everything. Edward stared into my eyes, and I stared into his. The world around me ceased to exist. For several seconds – or minutes? – I forgot I was in the middle of my wedding. It wasn't until Edward murmured 'I do' without ever taking his eyes off of mine that I realized I was next.

"And do you, Isabella Marie Swan, take Edward Anthony Masen Cullen as your husband, from this day forward, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health-" Both Carlisle and Edward's lips turned up slightly at the thought of a vampire becoming sick. "-forever until the end of time?" My throat tightened up. _Until death do us part _was not a part of the vows. My heart fluttered faintly.

"I do," I whispered softly. "I do," I said again, with more conviction than before. I looked to Carlisle, and he was smiling kindly.

I felt Edward shift next to me as he took my hand delicately between his. I turned to look back at him.

"This ring is but a symbol. It stands for my love for you, Isabella. Strong, unbreakable, binding, and like a circle with no end, eternal," he murmured as he slid the gold band on next to his mother's engagement ring. I felt tears spring to my eyes at the sight. He lowered his lips and kissed my forehead softly. "Why do you cry?"

"I'm so happy," I choked out. He smiled again. "If I could, I would be crying, too." I nodded. With trembling fingers, I picked up the golden band and reached for Edward's hand.

"I'm not eloquent, or poetic. I can't think of some witty or amazing allusion on the spot to describe how magical this ring is. All I know is that I love you, Edward, more than anything else in the world, and I would sacrifice _anything-_" including my soul, "-to be with you until the end of time. I love you," I finished at a whisper as I slid his ring onto his third finger. I smiled faintly as his hands closed around mine.

Carlisle had only been able to utter "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may-" before Edward had grabbed me and pulled me to him, lifted my veil and pressed his stone lips up against mine. I reached up and wrapped my arms around him, returning the kiss as best I could. We both knew what we wanted, and we both knew there were two rows of razor teeth on the other side of his tightly closed lips.

His hand brushed through my hair as he continued to kiss me, my hands tied around behind his head. I was only vaguely aware of the noise behind me. Slowly, Edward released me and leaned back.

"Breathe, Bella," he whispered. I breathed on command; cold night air rushing to fill my burning. I smiled up at him, a bit dazzled. His thumb brushed across my cheek softly. "You're _mine_," he murmured. The possession in his voice sent a thrill vibrating down my spine. I liked the sound of it and I blushed softly.

It was then that I became aware of the noise. I turned and looked around; everyone was standing up, cheering. Renee was hugging Charlie and sobbing, and then she'd turn and hug Phil. Several people from Forks High were also in the stands: Angela Weber, Mike Newton, Tyler Crowley, even Jessica and Lauren had come, along with several other students I recognized. That Bobby kid from Calculus and Cathryn from Government last year. I also saw several Forks police officers sitting near Charlie. Laurent, Irina and Tanya were all sitting together. My eyes widened slightly when I saw three other vampires sitting with them that I didn't recognize.

"That's Kate, Carmen and Eleazar. They're also from Denali. I'll introduce you later," Edward murmured in my ear. Eleazar just smiled in my direction. I didn't know which of the two new females was which, though. I nodded to Edward and continued to look around.

Edward tugged on my hand, leading me away from the crowd. I broke away from him to go speak with Renee and Charlie briefly. Renee started bawling at the sight of me. As she turned to Phil, Charlie gave me an awkward one-armed hug. After exchanging pleasantries, Edward took my hand and led me off.

"Use protection!" Renee called after me. I turned bright red, and Edward chuckled softly as he continued to lead me off into the darkness. I stumbled slightly, but Edward caught me. I kicked off the shoes, and we jogged into the darkness together.

After a while, he reached down and scooped me into his arms, my large dress making it only slightly awkward for my vampire sweetheart – no, my vampire _husband_ – to carry me effortlessly through the forest. I laughed softly and wrapped my arms around his neck as he ran, carrying me to someplace new.

He slowed; it hadn't been a particularly fast run by vampire standards, but we were quite far away from the festivities by now. No human could catch up to us, anyway.

Once we were completely alone, Edward set me down on my stocking feet and cornered me against a tree. I giggled as he brushed his lips across mine. I brushed my fingers through his hair affectionately.

"Most aggravating," I heard him mumble. His fingers reached up and started unsnapping the clasps of the high collared dress.

"_Edward_," I gasped softly, turning red. He chuckled softly, pausing after the high collar drooped.

"Much better." He leaned in and brushed his lips across my exposed neck. I squirmed, trying to kiss him. "Be good," he warned, tracing his lips up along my jaw. He pulled back and admired the large necklace throwing droplets of light across my skin.

"Alice was good with that…" he said softly. He leaned in, running his nose along my jaw bone and then placed his lips against my forehead. I wrapped my arms around his chest, completely content to be like this forever.

Edward growled softly, and then I heard it – a ghostly chuckle floated across the empty space. My hair stood on end and my heart stopped beating when I realized that Edward and I were in the same place now that we had been in in my dream. _Just a dream, just a dream,_ I thought.

Edward had turned into a protective stance over me, growing softly still. _No, no, Edward, you cannot fight!_ I gasped softly, my hands trembling violently. This couldn't be happening. James was dead, this wasn't possible! _Alice_ had premonitions, not me!

"Be ready to run when I give the word, Bella." No, no! I'm not running and leaving you to die! Edward's body slunk down lower into his mountain-lion hunting stance. He was ready to fight. And to die for me. We waited, holding our breath as the dark figured stepped from the trees.


	14. Farewell

**Well. Guess what. I finished it. **_**It's done.**_** This is the last chapter of Conscience. It is… quite surprising for me. Sure, there wasn't a whole lot of plot, but for me to finish any kind of chaptered story over ten chapters is amazing. Normally I get frustrated or bored and quit. But I finished. It is done. Love you all for reading it, I'm so surprised how many people ended up liking it. I didn't think an AU would go over so well. Thank you so much to Bloodsucking Leech, my wonderful, amazing, lovely, charming and efficient beta. Hooray! (And, for those of you who asked, yes, I'm working on **_**Cupcakes: The Sequel**_** now.)**

**Remember how I said at the begining I never liked the title Conscience? I guess it's going to stick, now. :p It came from this idea that Laurent, originally red-eyed and human-eater could develop a sense of human-like morality like Carlisle, and rise above that. A conscience, if you will. And hence, the title. But after writing fourteen chapters, I don't have the heart to try and rename it. Besides, I'm no closer to having a better name for it, even now. Yay. And now, on with the show.**

_Conscience_, Part Fourteen: Farewell

"Easy, easy!" Laurent stepped from the trees with his hands up, his eyes wide in surprise. I exhaled dramatically and slumped back against the tree, my heart slowly drifting to a normal pulse. For a second, I had actually thought that James-

"What do you want," Edward growled. He still looked angry, but he had relaxed his position to a more casual one.

Laurent didn't seem to look offended, he just smiled softly. "I didn't mean to interrupt, but there seems to be a bit of a problem… back there." He pointed through the trees in the direction we had come: back toward the wedding.

"What's going-" Edward started but froze as he seemed to read Laurent's mind. He turned to me. "Do you trust me?"

I stared up at him, my eyes wide. "Yes, why?"

"If I asked you to stay here, would you? Would you trust me to act in your best interest?" My heart skipped a beat. "And would you trust me not to do anything I know you would hate me for?" What was he talking about?

"I would…" I answered honestly, my voice quivering. "But what's happening?"

"It's Jacob," he murmured. "Please, please stay put. It sounds like a fight is going to break out between Kate and Jacob. With the humans watching." My eyes widened slightly and he leaned down, kissed my temple, and was off running through the woods. I stared after him in shock.

"Jacob, you idiot!" I screamed at the top of my lungs; I hoped he could hear me. Angrily, I crossed my arms over my chest. Laurent's chuckle reminded me that he was still standing there, and I fixed my startled gaze on him.

"You're not going?" I asked him. Laurent just studied me for a moment then nodded.

"Well, since your wolf friend is attacking the coven to which I belong, perhaps it is wise for me to stay away, don't you think? If I go running in with Edward, the wolves would think he was taking my side, rather than being an agent of mutual peace," he explained softly.

I couldn't argue with his logic. I only wished I looked a little more presentable. I was in a state that only Edward was allowed to see me in; my hair a bit disheveled, dress wrinkled, and the collar still unbuttoned. Clumsily, I reached up and smoothed my hair a bit and then fumbled with the clasps on the dress. It just seemed a little improper for Laurent to catch me in my state of slight undress.

The clasps were difficult, and my fingers were tripping over the tiny wire loops. It would've been easier if I could look in a mirror, but I was forced to try it blind.

"Ah, allow me," Laurent murmured. Before I could protest, he had covered the twenty feet between us in the blink of an eye. Startled, I couldn't smother my human reaction to gasp and step back slightly. "Sorry," he murmured, though he didn't falter or step away in response.

Instead, his cool fingers brushed across my neck as he quickly fastened the collar snaps back together. It took about a second, but his hands rested around the collar of fabric lightly for a moment longer, as if he were feeling my pulse through the garment.

I stayed perfectly still, holding my breath. Edward was busy with Jacob, Alice was busy with Jacob, neither one of them would ever know until it was too late. Even if they knew the second he decided, it would still be too late.

"Your heart is racing. Are you still afraid of me?" His voice was soft but surprised. Unmoving, I just raised my eyes to look into his gold ones. The color helped; it eased my fluttering heart.

But how could I answer his question? _No, not really, just that your two coven mates each tried to eat me, and I had a dream about this and James killed Edward and I thought you were James,_ wouldn't go over particularly well. So I said the only thing that I could.

"Not really," I tried to explain. "There's a difference between how comfortable I am around Edward and being scared of any ol' vampire," I tried to say light-heartedly. Just because I didn't cozy up to Laurent didn't mean I was afraid of him. I wasn't exactly cuddling Jasper every other second.

Laurent studied me quietly, as if trying to figure out what to say. His lips were pressed into a slightly amused smile, and his gold eyes seemed alight with humor.

Quite suddenly, Laurent turned and looked in the direction Edward had gone. Silently, he turned back to me and opened up his arms in an embrace-like gesture.

"Would you like to go back?"

"Won't Edward kill you for carrying me? And for taking me back when he told me to stay put?"

"Probably," he chuckled softly. I nibbled on my bottom lip nervously. Did I really want to take a ride from Laurent? He just seemed so… _trustworthy._ And besides, I wanted to know what was going on between Edward and Jacob.

"Sure," I said uncertainly, taking a few steps toward him.

"Don't move," he murmured. In a second, he vanished. Within that second, his cold arms had become a cage around me and my white gown. It took me several seconds to focus, but I realized that he was moving.

Laurent had wrapped both his arms around me and tucked me into a little ball and was holding me against his chest. Granted he wasn't running particularly fast for a vampire, but it was more ground than I could ever hope to cover on my own.

The side of my head rested on his shoulder, and I realized that it wasn't just Edward who smelled nice. Edward's scent was intoxicating. In that way, he was _my_ singer. Only I couldn't eat him for it.

Laurent's scent was more musky, less sweet and light. There was a heavier air to it; a more dangerous one. It had never occurred to me that the scent vampires used to lure prey was different from vampire to vampire.

Perhaps certain types of humans found one more appealing than the other, and a scent would attract a particular kind of human to a vampire; perhaps that vampire's favorite choice. Edward and I were the only example of that; his scent was appealing to me – though it wasn't what attracted me to him – and I was his singer. We were the only such case – there were no other known cases of a vampire coexisting with his or her singer. Perhaps the person who found Laurent's scent to be perfect would be his singer. I shivered at the thought.

"Cold, _chérie_?"

"No," I murmured quietly. I felt his gait slow down, but even before we had stopped, I heard a growl. I giggled softly. Edward.

Just as Laurent was starting to set me down, I felt another pair of arms snatch me up. Instantly, the scent surrounded me, and I turned and snuggled into Edward's chest. He held me protectively, and as I peeked up to look at him, he was glaring at Laurent.

Edward turned wordlessly and carried me away, and as he did, I peeked over my shoulder and smiled weakly at Laurent. He smiled back.

"Edward? What happened? With the wolves?" I whispered softly.

"It's been sorted out," he explained, pausing so that he could set me on my feet. His arm found its way around my waist and he tugged me back into the crowd.

"The wolves were here?"

"Yes. We introduced the pack to Irina, Laurent and Tanya, but they had never seen the other three. Carlisle didn't even know they were planning to attend. But Carlisle and Sam worked it out, and everything was in the best interest of the humans." I smiled. It was still such an uplifting feeling; knowing that vampire and werewolf were getting along. Sort of.

"Bella?" I glanced up to look at him. "Would you like to meet the other three vampires? They're just like us, too," he explained as my heart skipped a beat. Nervously, I nodded. He flashed a grin and took my hand, leading me into the crowd.

We converged on a group that seemed to be separated from the rest. Alice, Jasper, Tanya, Irina, Emmett, Rosalie and Esme were all gathered around. Laurent had also rejoined them, and the three I had yet to meet hovered nearby. Only Carlisle seemed comfortable walking among the humans, and with only Carlisle did the humans seemed comfortable interacting.

As Edward drew me up to the crowd of vampires, most of them turned to look at us.

"Bella!" Alice bounded over to my side and threw her stone arms around me carefully. "You were beautiful, and you only tripped once! I'm so proud of you!"

"Edward my man!" Emmett thrust out his fist to Edward, and Edward bounced his off of Emmett's. Rosalie's reaction was quiet. I couldn't tell if she were angry or smiling. Wordlessly, she turned and disappeared into the waning crowd of guests. Emmett gave a shrug of nonchalance before turning and going after her.

"Bella," Edward said. "This is Carmen," he nodded to the slender woman. She had shoulder-length brunette hair and the striking golden eyes. She smiled softly and nodded.

He continued on, "This is Eleazar," He gestured to the man with wisps of dark hair dancing in front of his eyes standing near Carmen. I nodded my head in greeting.

I glanced over as Esme turned to her side, holding out her arms. Carlisle came to stand beside her, pulling her into an embrace not unlike the way Edward held me.

"I'm Kate," the third unknown vampire spoke, stepping toward me. She flashed a smile at Edward before looking back to me. "Hello, Bella," she said.

"Hello," I whispered, a little intimidated. Edward was at my side protectively, and I knew that never would any of the Cullens hurt me – even Jasper, now – but six other vampires surrounded me.

Without warning, Kate leaned forward so we were nearly nose to nose. She stared into my eyes for a moment, her face expressionless. I had no choice but to stare back, holding my breath.

Finally, she straightened back up and smiled.

"Well, I like the girl," she announced. Every vampire suddenly looked right at me as my face colored. Naturally, it colored even more.

"Sorry," I mumbled, turning into Edward's chest. It was embarrassing to blush in front of the vampires; every one of them abstained from human blood, and here I was clouding the air with my scent. He chuckled softly and I felt his fingers stroke through my hair.

"We should be going. Carlisle knows that, unfortunately, we cannot stay long," Carmen said.

"Yes, we tried that once, when there were even fewer of my own," Carlisle agreed. He turned to me before continuing, "Remember, we tried to live in Denali with them before settling here, but even with the eight of us, it was far too many. Carmen is right; it would be unwise for all thirteen of us to linger together very long." He turned back to the Denali coven. "It was very nice to see that everyone is well. Please drop by again sometime, even if it's just for a little while. It's always encouraging to see others like us," he said.

Eleazar nodded and looked to the rest of his coven. "Shall we?"

Heads bobbed in unison. He started toward the forest where they could run uninhibited before pausing and looking over his shoulder.

"It was very nice to meet you, Miss Bella," he said. I smiled softly and turned back to face them.

"It was nice to meet you, as well," I said. Quite pleasant to meet a vampire outside my family who didn't want to eat me.

Eleazar nodded and resumed his pace to the forest.

"Congratulations, Edward," Carmen said with a wave, turning to follow her mate.

"Mm 'Bye!" Kate said, waving before bounding off toward the forest.

"It was nice to see you again, Dr.Cullen," Irina said quietly before turning and following. It did not escape my notice that she said nothing to Edward or me.

Laurent was next, and he turned to leave without a word. Suddenly, I felt Edward stiffen at my side. Laurent turned around and slowly walked over to us.

"Never before have I met someone quite as intriguing as you, Bella," he said. He glanced to Edward. "Nor have I ever seen such an unlikely situation," he added. "But, I am very pleased that I was able to see you again. That the James thing resolved itself the way it did… and not… another way." He nodded. "Perhaps I'll get the grace to see you again," he leaned in to whisper, though any vampire would know what he said anyway, "Perhaps when you have acquired your _grâce éternel_." Edward groaned slightly next to me. He still wasn't looking forward to that.

I couldn't stop the grin that split across my face. Edward just sighed heavily next to me.

"Until then, _chérie_," he lifted up my hand and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on top of my hand. Releasing my hand gently, he turned and went to join the rest of his covenmates standing in the darkness of the forest.

Tanya stood there, watching Laurent's retreating back. A smile was quirking at her lips. Edward had just begun to relax and then tensed again.

"No, that will not work," he said. Tanya's expression drooped into a pout. "Sorry. I allowed Laurent to do so to Bella, but no, you may not kiss me, my hand, nor any other part," Edward said tartly.

"Alright then. Congratulations, Edward, you funnygrumpy. Congratulations, Bella! And Dr. Cullen and Mrs. Cullen! Your coven has – um," - Edward tossed a dark look at Tanya – "_might_ expand, but your family certainly has for now, and that's worth congratulating." She smiled exuberantly before turning. Over her shoulder, she winked at Edward. I glanced up to catch him rolling his eyes.

As she disappeared into the darkness, a light breeze blew through the area. I knew even before Edward let out his held breath and relaxed his stiffness that they were gone. Quietly, Alice, Jasper, Esme and Carlisle made themselves scarce, allowing us our privacy.

It was then that I heard it; the faint beginnings of a waltz.

"May I have this dance?" I blushed as Edward swooped low into a gentlemanly bow.

"You know I can't dance," I explained.

"But you're with me." Apparently, he wasn't taking no for an answer, and reached down. Within seconds, we were whirling through the moonlight, my diamonds scattering little rainbows everywhere. It was truly like a dream.

"Edward, I'm _dancing_," I exclaimed. Somehow, my feet were staying underneath me. As Edward pulled me around, it was natural. My feet seemed to know where to go; perhaps because he was leading me, there was only one place for my feet to go. They didn't get confused or stumble. Much.

"I told you; it was all in the leading," he chuckled. Quickly, his hand on my waist tightened to catch me as I stumbled. "I can't do anything about that, though," he murmured humorously as he pulled me right back into the dance. I blushed.

The trees whirling around us glittered from the diamonds around my neck. There were people watching us; I could see their blurred faces whirl by. My world was focused, however, on the one thing that wasn't blurred out: Edward.

"If you look into my eyes, it will be easier not to stumble. If you don't think about what you're doing, you won't – shouldn't – trip," he corrected himself. I glanced up and met his face. The less I thought about what my body was doing, the easier it was to let him guide me through the motions. It was effortless, amazing, magical, surreal –

"Unbelievable," I murmured. His lips cocked into a faint smile.

"What was that with Kate? When she was looking at me?" His smile faltered slightly, but then returned.

"Still asking questions," he sighed softly. "Kate has... a gift. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, we don't fully understand it. I don't even think she does. She can look at people and know… who they are."

I frowned in confusion. "But she knew who I was before she looked at me."

"Well, not in the sense of what your name is, but in the sense of what you're capable of. What kind of a person you are. What sort of darkness you harbor in your heart. For example, you could have someone who is very cold and hateful and hurtful, but if they were interacting with people – and not planning to do bad things or thinking bad thoughts in my and Alice's case – and acting nice and pleasant, you'd never know what they were capable of." He stopped only briefly before continuing.

"Kate would. Even if they thought nice things, planned nice things, she would still see that raw hatred inside of them and know that they were capable of very dangerous things." He paused, giving me time to process what he was saying.

"So, she… well… you can read minds… she can read… hearts?" It sounded silly, but Edward was right; it was incredibly difficult to find a word to describe it.

"Something like that, I suppose that could work. She can read dead hearts, too," he said, indicating that the talent worked on vampires as well as humans. I glanced up at him curiously.

"Did she make… advances, too? When you were in Denali?" Edward shrugged softly.

"It's hard to say. She did. But… I think she knew… that I wouldn't let them win. Tanya tried the hardest. Kate… tried, I think, because she couldn't believe what she was reading from me, and wanted to prove it was wrong."

I nodded again, a smile curling at my lips.

"But she wasn't wrong, was she?"

"No," he whispered, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

We continued to whirl away under the moonlight. As we moved about the cleared area, the diamond sparkles ran across his body and face and my body and face. Some of the sparkles got caught in my hair, and the ones that touched my skin caused my skin to glow softly beneath the light.

"What about Laurent," I asked. Edward didn't falter in step, though he did raise his eyebrow. "He has a gift, doesn't he?" His lips twitched slightly.

"You picked up on that, didn't you?"

"The trusting thing?" Edward only nodded in assent. "It just… seemed like I shouldn't tell him much because of everything, but despite that, I did. I told him a lot, actually. Probably more than I ever should have. But I couldn't help it!" I sighed, frustrated. It was easy to be frustrated now that he had left.

"It's alright," he murmured. "You did fine. Everything turned out alright, see?" He kissed my forehead again.

Our spinning started to slow. I could make out people's faces, distinct tree contours, even specific stars in the sky. Gradually, we stopped. How I had managed that without becoming dizzy, I didn't know.

Edward stared down into my eyes and for a moment of blinding passion, we were locked together.

"Mine," he whispered fiercely.

Without warning, he leaned down and stole my lips. His arms wrapped around my body, pulling me closer as I wrapped my arms around the back of his head. We both wanted so much more than what he could give at this time. His lips stayed tightly closed.

We stood like that for… minutes? Hours? I lost track of time. My world was spinning again, even though we were standing still. He continued to kiss me, and I didn't doubt we would stop before the dawn broke.

_Mine, _I thought. _All mine._


End file.
